Structure and electrical properties of boron-added (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films fabricated by the sol-gel method

Thin films of BaxSr1-xTiO3 (BST, with x = 0.5) were fabricated on a RuO2/Ru/SiO2/Si substrate by the spin coating of the multicomponent sol prepared using metal alkoxides. Boron alkoxide was intentionally introduced to establish a better microstructure and to reduce the leakage current. AFM indicated that a crack-free uniform microstructure having a smooth surface was gradually developed with increasing boron content. The relative dielectric permittivity of the 250-nm thick BST thin films fired at 700 degrees C decreased with increasing content of boron, from 420 for the undoped film to 190 for the 10 mol% boron-added film at 1 MHz. This observation was interpreted in terms of a serial capacitance composed of the perovskite BST grain and the interfacial B2O3 glassy phase having a low dielectric permittivity. The leakage current density (J) also decreased with the amount of boron added. The leakage current for the applied voltage greater than 1 V showed a linear variation of log J with E-1/2 at room temperature, suggesting that the interface-controlled Schottky emission was the dominant conduction process for the BST thin films fabricated on the RuO2 electrode. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.