Properties of MgTiO3 thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering for microwave application

The crystal structure and dielectric characteristics of MgTiO3 films were investigated. In this work, MgTiO3 thin films were fabricated on n-type Si(1 0 0) substrates by reactive RF magnetron sputtering at various Ar/O2 mixing ratios (100/0, 90/10, 80/20) and substrate temperatures (200, 300 and 400 °C), at an RF power of 400 W. Highly oriented MgTiO3(1 1 0) thin films were obtained at an RF power of 400 W and substrate temperatures of 200, 300 and 400 °C and various Ar/O2 ratios (100/0, 90/10, 80/20). These conditions are much colder than the bulk sintering temperature. These films were investigated at an RF of 400 W and various substrate temperatures. The microstructure and surface morphology of the MgTiO3 films deposited on n-Si(1 0 0) were observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD showed that the deposited films exhibited a polycrystalline microstructure. The grain size of the film increased with the substrate temperature. The electrical properties were measured by making C-V and current-voltage I-V measurements on metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitor structures. At an RF power of 400 W and a substrate temperature of 400 °C, the dielectric constant was 16.2 (f=10MHz).