Effect of Y doping and composition-dependent elastic strain on the electrical properties of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films deposited at 520 °C

We demonstrate that large and simultaneous improvements in permittivity, tunability, and leakage current density of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 (BST)-based thin-film capacitors can be achieved by yttrium doping. We have found that, for a low deposition temperature (520 °C) sputtering process, Y-doped BST capacitors exhibit tenfold lower leakage current density (<10−9A∕cm2 at 100KV∕cm) and 70% higher permittivity than nominally undoped BST-based capacitors. Furthermore, this work suggests an intriguing correlation between dopant concentration-dependent elastic strain in the films and their enhanced dielectric properties.