Highly oriented (Zr _0.7Sn _0.3)TiO ₄ thin films grown by rf magnetron sputtering

Thin films of (Zr _0.7Sn _0.3)TiO ₄ on Si(100) were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering in the present study. Films of a highly preferred [020] orientation, as demonstrated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopic examinations, were grown successfully on a Si substrate with in situ postannealing at 700°C. The chemical composition of the films, measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, exhibited a uniform concentration distribution for all species. A study by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy further revealed some firm evidence of a molecular orbital that affected the chemical structure. The dielectric constants of 400-nm-thick (Zr _0.7Sn _0.3)TiO ₄ films in the present study were >18 for the films with a preferred orientation and ∼11 for polycrystalline films.