Low-energy oxygen ion bombardment was employed to modify the physical
properties of BaTiO3 thin films grown by the multi-ion-beam reactive s
puttering technique. The bombardment effect was shown in terms of film
morphology, dielectric properties, dc resistivity degradation, and cu
rrent-voltage characteristics. The results showed that oxygen ion bomb
ardment can lead to denser morphology, a higher dielectric constant, a
lower dissipation factor, slower dc resistivity degradation rate, and
lower leakage current. The possible reasons for these improvements in
clude the changes in void network structure, grain boundary structure,
and defect structure of the films.