Determination of dielectric constant and loss of high-K thin films in the microwave frequencies

A method to determine the dielectric constant and loss of high-K thin film dielectrics in the microwave frequency region using the extended cavity perturbation technique is presented. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated by the determination of the dielectric constant and loss for reactively sputtered TiO₂ thin films on borosilicate glass substrates. The dielectric constant and loss is measured at 8.98, 9.96 and 10.97 GHz using a TE_10n rectangular cavity. Using this technique, the dielectric properties of TiO₂ films deposited under varying oxygen percentage in the sputtering atmosphere from 20% to 100% were measured. The dielectric constant and loss are found to be dependent on both the oxygen partial pressure as well as frequency of measurement. The film deposited at 50% of oxygen had a higher dielectric constant, ε_r = 44.35 at 8.98 GHz, where as the film deposited at 100% oxygen showed the lowest value of dielectric constant, ε_r = 21.36 at 10.97 GHz. The dielectric loss tangent varied from 0.004 to 0.019 depending on frequency and oxygen partial pressure. However this technique is applicable only for thin films coated on low K dielectric substrates.