Structural engineering of vertically aligned nanocomposite films fabricated via magnetron and pulsed laser co-deposition for microwave application

Abstract

Microwaves are often used in communication engineering, including in microwave relays as well as multichannel, mobile, and satellite communications. To meet the demand for a “small, light, thin, and precise” modern electronic machine, developing highly tunable microwave materials to manufacture miniaturized microwave devices has become a top priority. Ferroelectric materials are excellent microwave materials, showing outstanding dielectric properties and tunability. Introducing low dielectric loss oxides in the construction of vertical self-assembly nanocomposites (VSNs) effectively improves their tunability and reduces dielectric loss. However, the optimal doping content of simple VSN films limits further improvement of tunability. Herein, we propose a strategy-gradient VSN to achieve combined improvement in tunability and dielectric constant by designing a sputtering and pulsed laser co-deposition. The resulting VSN composite film has a dielectric constant of 428.08, a dielectric loss of 0.0212, and a tunability of 78.69 %. Our results contribute to the development of filters and have broad application prospects in the microwave industry.