Study on the influence of powder size on the properties of BTS/ITO thin film by RF sputtering from powder target

BaSn0.15Ti0.85O3 (BTS) thin films were deposited on a tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)/glass substrate by RF sputtering from a powder target using BTS powders of different particle sizes, the structural and electrical properties of the BTS thin film investigated. The results indicate that deposition rate and electrical properties of the BTS film are strongly related to the particle size of BTS powder, with the deposition rate increasing with a decrease in the powder particle size. When the particle size of the BTS powder is 70 nm, a deposition rate of 40 nm/min was achieved. The leakage current density decreases with increasing the deposition rate when depositing the BTS thin film. Further, the leakage current density of the BTS thin film by the nano-powder is one order of magnitude higher than that of the micron powder, while the leakage current density is lower than 7.83 × 10−9 A/cm2, the dielectric tunability reaches 57.8% and dielectric loss remains only 0.017 at bias voltage of 5 V.