Enhanced Tunable Properties of Strontium Barium Niobate Films on Dielectric Alumina Substrate at Microwaves

(Sr,Ba)Nb2O6 (SBN) relaxor ferroelectric thin films exhibiting nonlinear properties promising for microwave applications were grown on a polycrystalline aluminum oxide substrate for the first time. Films of good crystallinity were obtained using the sputtering technique and high-temperature annealing. For all films, a significant change in the phase composition after high-temperature treatment was observed, and annealing provided a different effect on the phase composition of films deposited at different substrate temperatures. Tunable properties of the SBN films were investigated as a function of the deposition temperature and annealing conditions using planar capacitors with microwaves. The capacitor based on the strontium barium niobate film deposited at a temperature of 950 °C and subjected to annealing demonstrates a tunability of 44% and a loss tangent of 0.009 ÷ 0.022, which is expressed in the microwave commutation quality factor of 1740. This is the first successful attempt to form planar capacitive structures based on SBN films, which reveal a commutation quality factor above 1000 for tunable microwave applications.