OPTICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF NANO-SIZED BARIUM STRONTIUM TITANATE (Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3) THIN FILM
Barium strontium titanate ( Ba 0.6 Sr 0.4 TiO 3) or BST thin films on quartz substrates have been prepared by using a modified sol-gel processing technique. The starting materials are barium 2-ethylhexanoate Ba[CH 3( CH 2)3 CH(C 2 H 5) CO 2]2, strontium 2-ethylhexanoate Sr[CH 3( CH 2)3 CH(C 2 H 5) CO 2]2 and titanium (IV) isopropoxide Ti[CH 3 CH 3 CHO ]4. The precursors Ti[CH 3 CH 3 CHO ]4 except were synthesized in the laboratory. Transparent and crack-free films were fabricated on quartz substrates by spin coating. The as-fired films were found to be amorphous, which crystallized to cubic phase after annealing at 550°C in air for 1 hr. In this paper, we report the structural and optical properties of BST thin films prepared by the modified sol-gel process.