Electrical characterization of thin film ferroelectric capacitors

Tunable capacitors can be used to facilitate the reduction of components in wireless technologies. The tunability of the capacitors is caused by the sensitivity of the relative dielectric constant to a change in polarization with electric field. Thin film ferroelectric MIM capacitors on silicon offer a re-use of electronic circuitry, low tuning voltages, a high capacitance density, a low cost, a presence of bulk acoustic wave resonance(s) and decoupling functionality. The basic operation and measurement principles are outlined. To assess the performance in the microwave frequency range, MIM test structures1, with a barium strontium titanate dielectric, have been successfully processed, and measured. The electrical characterization of tunable capacitors is demonstrated using a 1-Port Advantest R3767CG VNA in the frequency range of 10 MHz – 8 GHz