PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION OF ELECTRONIC CERAMICS

High quality thin films of electronic ceramics are currently being dep osited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for a variety of applications. Examples of these applications include ferroelectric thin films for a ctive microwave electronics and rare-earth doped manganite thin films for uncooled infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs). Single phase and or iented SrxBa(1-x)TiO3 films have been deposited by PLD onto (100) subs trates of LaAlO3 for active microwave devices. The dielectric properti es of these films has been measured using gold interdigital capacitors deposited on top of the film. A 2: 1 change in the capacitance can be achieved using a 40 V bias across a 5-10 mu m capacitor gap. The diss ipation factor (measured at 1 MHz) depends on film composition and tem perature. Rare-earth manganite (RE(x)M(1-x)Mn(O delta)) thin films hav e also been deposited by PLD for use in uncooled IRFPAs, The temperatu re dependence of the resistivity has been measured for La0.67Ca0.33MnO 3 and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films deposited onto LaAlO3 substrates. Fi lm properties depend strongly on composition and post-deposition proce ssing conditions to vary the oxygen stoichiometry. The temperature coe fficient of resistance (TCR) has been measured to be between 2 and 15% . Based on preliminary measurements, these films will increase the sen sitivity of the uncooled IR detector to be comparable or greater than a cooled detector based on HgCdTe.