Abstract
$BiFeO_3$ (BFO) thin films were prepared on $Pt/TiO_2/Si$ substrate by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The effects of deposition pressure on electrical properties were investigated using measurement of dielectric properties, leakage current and polarization. When BFO targets were prepared, Fe atoms were substituted with Mn 0.05% to increase electrical resistivity of films. (Fe+Mn)/Bi ratio of BFO thin films increases with increasing partial pressure of $O_2$ gas. The deposited films showed the only BFO phase at 10 mTorr, the coexistence of BFO and $Bi_2O_3$ phase at 30-50 mTorr, and the only $Bi_2O_3$ phase at 70 mTorr. The crystallinity of BFO films was reduced due to the higher Bi contents and the decrease of surface mobility of atoms at high temperature. The porosity and surface roughness of films increased with the increase of the deposition pressure. The films deposited at high pressure showed low dielectric constant and high leakage current. The dielectric constant of films deposited at various deposition pressures was 84${\sim}$153 at 1 kHz. The leakage current density of the films deposited at 10${\sim}$70 mTorr was about $7{\times}10.6{\sim}1.5{\times}10.2A/cm^2$ at 100 kV/cm. The leakage current was found to be closely related to the morphology and composition of the BFO films. BFO films showed poor P-E hysteresis loops due to high leakage current.
