Dielectric Constant Measurements Using Atomic Force Microscopy System

A new technique to obtain local dielectric constant of thin films was developed using atomic force microscopy system. This technique, in addition to other characterization methods such as AFM imaging and X-Ray diffraction, was used to study, as an example, dielectric constant of thin films of 0.3BiScO3 - 0.7BaTiO3. The thin films were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition technique under following temperature of the substrate: 6500C, 7000C and 7500C. At each temperature, two different oxygen pressures were used in deposition chamber: 50 mTorr and 100 mTorr. Our goal was to find optimal growth conditions with the highest dielectric constant and compare it with their structural properties. In addition, our dielectric constant calculations were generalized to include a wider range of film thicknesses