Microstructure and Optical Properties of Ba0.65Sr0.35TiO3 Thin Films Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Ba0.65Sr0.35TiO3 thin films have been prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. The crystallization and microstructure of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scan electronic microstructure (SEM) and atom force microstructure (AFM). As-deposited thin films were found to be amorphous. The more intense characteristic diffraction peaks and improved crystallization can be observed in (Ba,Sr)TiO3 (BST) thin films deposited at high temperatures and annealed at higher than 650°C. Optical constants were determined from transmittance spectra by using the envelope method. The refractive index increased from 1.778 to 1.961 as the substrate temperature increased from 560 to 650°C. Both the refractive index and extinction coefficient increased with annealing temperature. The refractive index and extinction coefficient increased when the oxygen-to-argon ratio increased from 1:4 to 1:1. The dispersion of relation of the extinction coefficient vs wavelength was also investigated. The optical band gap of BST thin films was found to be about 3.56 eV, which decreased apparently with increasing annealing temperature.