THIN-FILMS OF NOVEL FERROELECTRIC COMPOSITES

Composites of BSTO combined with other non electrically active oxides have demonstrated adjustable electronic properties which can be tailor ed for use in various electronic devices.([1, 2]) These novel composit es of barium strontium titanate (BSTO) and oxide III compounds have al ready exhibited promising results in their ceramic form.([3]) The addi tive oxides modify the dielectric constant, tunability (change in the dielectric constant with applied voltage), and dielectric loss of the material. One application has been for use in phased array antennas an d insertion has been accomplished into several working antenna systems .([4]) To further accommodate the frequencies required by these phased array antennas, thin films of the composites have been fabricated. Pr eliminary studies have indicated that thin films of such composites ex hibit similar behavior as their bulk ceramic counterparts.([5]) The pu rpose of this study is to investigate the properties of the BSTO/oxide III based compounds in thin film form.