The atmosphere we live in contains various kinds of chemical species, natural and artificial, some of which are vital to our life, while many others are more or less harmful. The vital gases like oxygen, humidity have to be kept at adequate levels in the living atmosphere, whereas the hazardous and toxic gases like hydrocarbons, H2, volatile organic compounds, CO2, CO, NOx, SO2, NH3, O3 etc should be controlled to be under the designated levels. The measurement technology necessary for monitoring these gases has emerged, particularly as organic fuels and other chemicals have become essential in domestic and industrial life. In addition to other applications, environmental pollution monitoring and control has become a fundamental need in the recent years. Therefore, there has been an extensive effort to develop high-performance chemical sensors of small size, rugged construction, light weight, true portability, and with better sensing characteristics such as high sensitivity, fast response and recovery times, low drift, and high degree of specificity. Among the various types of gas sensors studied, solid state gas sensors based on semiconducting metal oxides are well established, due to their advantages over the other types, and hence cover a wide range of applications. However, the widespread application of these sensors has been hindered by limited sensitivity and selectivity. Various strategies have been employed in order to improved the performance parameters of these sensors. This thesis work has two major investigations, which form two parts of the thesis. The first part of this thesis describes the efforts to improve the sensing behaviour of one of the extensively studied metal oxide gas sensors, namely, ZnO, through a novel, ultrasonic-nebulised spray pyrolyis synthesis method, employing an aqueous combustion mixture (NSPACM). The second part of the thesis deals with the ideal of gas detection by optical means through the reversible phase transformation between V2O5 and V6O13 deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD). The introductory chapter I deals with basics of chemical sensors and the characteristic sensing parameters. Different types of gas sensors based on the phenomena employed for sensing are discussed, with an emphasis on semiconducting metal oxide gas sensors. The importance of material selection for solid state gas sensors, depending on the purpose, location, and conditions of operation are discussed, supporting the assertion that semiconducting metal oxides are better suited to fulfill all the requirements of modern gas sensors. Some of the effective methods to improve performance parameters including the influence of grain size, microstructure, and surface doping are described., followed by the motivation of the present thesis. The part I of the thesis is based on the resistive semiconducting metal oxide, where the system investigated was ZnO. Part one comprises Chapters 2, 3 and 4. In Chapter 2, a brief introduction to the material properties of ZnO, followed by various synthesis techniques are discussed. An overview of spray pyrolysis and combustion synthesis is followed by the details of the method employed in the present study, namely NSPACM, which is based on the above two methods, for the formation of ZnO films. A detailed description of the film deposition system built in house is presented, followed by the deposition procedure and the parameters used. Thermal study of the combustion mixture and non-combustion precursor shows the importance of the fuel, along with oxidizer, in forming the film. The films formed using combustion mixture are found to be polycrystalline, whereas films formed without combustion were found to have preferred crystallographic orientation even on an amorphous substrate, which is explained on the basis of minimization of surface energy. The observed unique microstructure with fine crystallite size and porous morphology is attributed to the combustion method employed, which is interesting from the point of view of gas sensing. Chapter 3 concerns the gas sensing study of these ZnO films. The design of the home made gas sensing system is explained in detail. The study of electrode characteristics is followed by the important steps in gas sensing measurements. ZnO gas sensors were mainly studied for their selectivity between aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. The results show two regions of temperature where the sensitivity peaks for aliphatic hydrocarbons, whereas aromatic hydrocarbons show a single sensitive region. This observation can pave the way for imparting selectivity. Possible reasons for the observed behavior are mentioned. Chapter 4 describes the chemical and physical modifications done to ZnO thin films by doping with catalysts, and through the use of x-y translational stage for large-area deposition.. Homogenous distribution of catalysts achieved by the NSPACM synthesis procedure, determined by the x-ray elemental mapping, is discussed. The addition of catalysts improved the sensing both because of catalytic effects and by promoting preferred crystallographic orientation, with Ni addition showing the better effects. The use of the x-y stage in producing the films with high orientation, which improved the gas sensing behavior, is explained. Part II of the thesis comprises Chapters 5,6 and 7, and describes a detailed study of V2O5 and V6O13 thin films deposited by MOCVD for optical sensing of chemical species. In Chapter 5, a brief introduction to chemical vapor deposition is given, followed by the importance of the characteristics of CVD precursors – in particular, the importance of their thermal behavior in film formation. This is followed by the importance of vapor pressure and partial pressure studies in the MOCVD of oxides of a multivalent metal such as vanadium. Various techniques of measuring vapor pressure are listed, followed by the details of the method used in the present study employing rising temperature thermogravimetry, based on the Langmuir equation. Thermogravimetric analysis performed, both at atmospheric as well as at low pressure, using commercial and home made apparatus, respectively is discussed. A detailed description of the home made setup is also presented. Chapter 6 describes the application of the vapor pressure and partial pressure studies to the deposition of films using MOCVD. Here, a detailed description of the vanadium oxide phase diagram and the stability of various phases is presented, which points the importance of precise parameter control during the deposition to obtain pure phases. The details of the CVD setup, followed by the procedure and parameters of deposition, are presented. The films deposited at various deposition temperatures, analyzed using XRD and SEM, are discussed. The effect of temperature on the growth is explained. The effect of vapor pressure is studied by varying the precursor vaporizer temperature, with a growth temperature maintained invariant. The influence of the amount of precursor on film growth, with a particular crystalline orientation and phase content, is explained followed by the description of the deposition of pure phases of V2O5 and V6O13 through the optimization of CVD parameters. Chapter 7 deals with the optical study of the films deposited by the above method. Here, the importance of two phases of vanadium oxide, V2O5 and V6O13, to the proposed gas sensing action, is presented. Their structural similarity in terms of polyhedral arrangement in the ab plane can be the basis of a reversible phase change. The difference in the optical transmittance in two phases forms the basis for the optical method for chemical sensing. The details of the laser-based optical sensing setup, its, design and the detection method, are explained. Studies on hydrocarbon sensing with vanadium, pentoxide films are also presented. The novelty in using reversible chemical transformation of a material system for detection of reducing and oxidizing gases in the ambient gases is discussed. Chapter 8 provides a summary of the present thesis, together with the main conclusions. The work reported in this thesis has been carried out by the candidate as part of the Ph.d training programme. She hopes that this would constitute a worthwhile contribution towards the understanding and subsequent application of ZnO and oxides of vanadium(V2O5 and V6O13) as novel gas sensors which will be useful for environmental protection, as well as for safety in industrial an domestic sectors.

The magnificent development of on-board solutions for electronics has resulted in the race towards scaling down of autonomous micro-power sources. In order to maintain the reliability of miniaturized devices and to reduce the power dissipation in high density memories like CMOS RAM, localized power for such systems is highly desirable. Therefore these micro-power sources need to be integrated in to the electronic chip level, which paved the way for the research and development of rechargeable thin film batteries (TFB). A Thin film battery is defined as a solid-state electrochemical source fabricated on the same scale as and using the same type of processing techniques used in microelectronics. Various aspects of deposition and characterization of LiCoO2/LiPON/Sn thin film battery are investigated in this thesis. Prior to the fabrication of thin film battery, individual thin film layers of cathode-LiCoO2, electrolyte-LiPON and anode-Sn were optimized separately for their best electrochemical performance. Studies performed on cathode layer include theoretical and experimental aspects of deposition of electrochemically active LiCoO2 thin films. Mathematical simulation and experimental validation of process kinetics involved in sputtering of a LiCoO2 compound target have been performed to analyze the effect of process kinetics on film stoichiometry. Studies on the conditioning of a new LiCoO2 sputtering target for various durations of pre-sputtering time were performed with the help of real time monitoring of glow discharge plasma by OES and also by analysing surface composition, and morphology of the deposited films. Films deposited from a conditioned target, under suitable deposition conditions were electrochemically tested for CV and charge/discharge, which showed an initial discharge capacity of 64 µAh/cm2/µm. Studies done on the deposition and characterization of solid electrolyte layer-LiPON have shown that, sputtering from powder target can be useful for certain compounds like Li3PO4 in which breaking of ceramic target and loss of material are severe problems. An ionic conductivity of 1.1 x10-6 S/cm was obtained for an Nt/Nd ratio of 1.42 for a RF power density of 3 W/cm2 and N2 flow of 30 sccm. Also the reasons for reduction in ionic conductivity of LiPON thin films on exposure to air have been analyzed by means of change in surface morphology and surface chemistry. Ionic conductivity of 2.8 x10-6 S/cm for the freshly deposited film has dropped down to 9.9 x10-10 S/cm due to the reaction with moisture, oxygen and carbon content of exposed air. Interest towards a Li-free thin film battery has prompted to choose Sn as the anode layer due to its relatively good electrochemical capacity compared with other metallic thin films and ease of processing. By controlling the rate of deposition of Sn, thin films of different surface morphology, roughness and crystallinity can be obtained with different electrochemical performance. The reasons for excessive volume changes during lithiation/delithiation of a porous Sn thin film have been analyzed with the aid of physicochemical characterization techniques. The results suggest that the films become progressively pulverized resulting in increased roughness with an increase in lithiation. Electrochemical impedance data suggest that the kinetics of charging becomes sluggish with an increase in the quantity of Li in Sn-Li alloy. Thin film batteries with configuraion LiCoO2/LiPON/Sn were fabricated by sequential sputter deposition on to Pt/Si substartes. Pt/Cu strips were used as the current collector leads with a polymer packaging. Electrochemical charge/discharge studies revealed discharge capacities in the range 6-15 µAh/cm2/µm with hundreds of repeated cycles. TFB with a higher capacity of 35 µAh/cm2/µm suffered capacity fade out after 7 cycles, for which reasons were analyzed. The surface and cross-sectional micrographs of cycled TFB showed formation of bubble like features on anode layer reducing integrity of electrolyte-anode interface. The irreversible Li insertion along with apparent surface morphology changes are most likely the main reasons for the capacity fade of the LiCoO2/LiPON/Sn TFB.

This dissertation presents the investigation of three thin film materials used in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS): alumina, silicon, and nickel. For this purpose, novel experimental techniques to test thin films under MEMS-relevant loading conditions were developed in order to study environmental effects and the underlying fatigue mechanisms of amorphous alumina ultra-thin coatings, mono-crystalline brittle silicon thin films, and poly-crystalline ductile nickel thin films. Knowledge of these mechanisms is necessary to improve the reliability of MEMS, especially of those devices operating in harsh environments. MEMS resonators were used to investigate both the fatigue and time-dependent behavior of alumina, silicon, and nickel. While micro-resonators were used in prior studies to research the fatigue properties of mono- and polycrystalline silicon, this work is the first in (1) using them to investigate fatigue properties of ultra-thin coatings and metallic films and in (2) using micro-resonators to investigate the time-dependent fatigue behavior of silicon films. For fatigue testing, the micro-resonators were subjected to fully-reversed loading at resonance (≈40 kHz for alumina-coated silicon, ≈8 kHz for nickel). Experiments were conducted in air at 30 °C, 50% relative humidity (RH) or 80 °C, 90% RH and testing was carried out over a broad range of applied stresses. The resonance frequency evolution proved to be a metric for the accumulated damage, which could be further quantified using finite element analysis. In addition, scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine the extent of fatigue damage. For testing under static loads, the resonators were subjected to external loading using a micromanipulator and probe-tip. Experiments with atomic-layer-deposited alumina investigated the cohesive and interfacial fatigue properties of alumina coatings of four different thicknesses, ranging from nominally 4.2 nm to 50.0 nm on silicon micro-resonators. Fatigue loading led to both cohesive and interfacial damage, while static loading did not result in any damage. Both the cohesive and interfacial fatigue crack growth rates are approximately one order of magnitude higher at 80 °C, 90% RH than at 30 °C, 50% RH and seem to increase with increasing strain energy release rate. A combination of compressive loading and the silicon sidewall's surface roughness is believed to cause the observed fatigue behavior. Experiments with 10-micrometer-thick deep reactive ion etched silicon micro-resonators investigated two aspects: whether surface oxidation is the critical parameter in silicon thin film fatigue and time-dependent failure in silicon as a potential underlying cause of resonator failures in the low cycle fatigue (LCF, <17 cycles, corresponding to ≈5 min) regime. To confirm whether surface oxidation is the critical parameter in silicon thin film fatigue, the influence of oxygen diffusion barrier alumina coatings on the fatigue behavior was investigated. The coatings led to an increase in fatigue life by at least two orders of magnitude compared to uncoated devices in the harsh environment, which not only confirms reaction layer fatigue (RLF) as governing fatigue mechanism in silicon thin films, but also constitutes a practical solution to significantly increase fatigue lifetimes. Previous LCF data were inconsistent with the RLF model, given that thick surface oxidation is unrealistic for tests lasting only few minutes. Accordingly, time-dependent failure in silicon was investigated as underlying cause and the observation of resonator failures under static loading indeed suggest that time-dependent crack growth may be responsible for LCF failures. Experiments with metallic micro-resonators investigated the fatigue crack initiation in 20-micrometer-thick electro-deposited nickel under MEMS-relevant conditions, such as extreme stress gradients resulting in non-propagating cracks, fully-reversed loading (over a large range of stress amplitudes), exposure to mild and harsh environments, and accumulation of billions of cycles. Under these circumstances, extrusions form locally at the notch root (within few million cycles at high stress amplitudes). Very thick local oxides (only at the location of the extrusions) of up to 1100 nm were observed in the harsh environment, with thinner oxides (up to 700 nm) in the mild environment. Micro-cracks form in the oxide but do not propagate given the extreme stress gradients. Finite element analysis confirmed that oxidation and micro-cracking lead to changes in the resonance frequency, which are consistent with the experimental results. Accumulation of cyclic plasticity appears to also lead to a decrease in resonance frequency which scales with applied strain.

The focus of this thesis is the investigation of thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOSs) in two circuit applications. To date, circuits implemented with AOS-based TFTs have been primarily enhancement-enhancement inverters, ring oscillators based on these inverters operating at peak frequencies up to ~400 kHz, and two-transistor one-capacitor pixel driving circuits for use with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDS). The first application investigated herein is AC/DC rectification using two circuit configurations based on staggered bottom-gate TFTs employing indium gallium oxide (IGO) as the active channel layer; a traditional full bridge rectifier with diode-tied transistors and a cross-tied full-wave rectifier are demonstrated, which is analogous to what has been reported previously using p-type organic TFTs. Both circuit configurations are found to operate successfully up to at least 20 MHz; this is believed to be the highest reported operating frequency to date for circuits based on amorphous oxide semiconductors. Output voltages at one megahertz are 9 V and ~10.5 V, respectively, when driven with a differential 7.07 Vrms sine wave. This performance is superior to that of previously reported organic-based rectifiers. The second AOS-based TFT circuit application investigated is an enhancement-depletion (E-D) inverter based on heterogeneous channel materials. Simulation results using models based on a depletion-mode indium zinc oxide (IZO) TFT and an enhancement-mode IGO TFT result in a gain of ~15. Gains of other oxide-based inverters have been limited to less than 2; the large gain of the E-D inverter makes it well suited for digital logic applications. Deposition parameters for the IGO and IZO active layers are optimized to match the models used in simulation by fabricating TFTs on thermally oxidized silicon and patterned via shadow masks. Integrated IGO-based TFTs exhibit a similar turn-on voltage and decreased mobility compared to the shadow masked TFTs. However, the integrated IZO-based TFTs fabricated to date are found to be conductive and exhibit no gate modulation. Due to the conductive nature of the load, the fabricated E-D inverter shows no significant output voltage variation. This discrepancy in performance between the integrated and shadow-masked IZO devices is attributed to processing complications. / Graduation date: 2009

The primary objective of this thesis is to develop a process for fabricating integrated circuits based on thin-film transistors (TFTs) using zinc tin oxide (ZTO) as the channel layer. ZTO, in contrast to indium- or gallium-based amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOS), is perceived to be a more commercially viable AOS choice due to its low cost and ability to be deposited via DC reactive sputtering. In the absence of an acceptable ZTO wet etch process, a plasma-etching process using Ar/CH₄ is developed for both 1:1 and 2:1 ZTO compositions. An Ar/CH₄ plasma etch process is also designed for indium gallium oxide (IGO), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), and indium tin oxide (ITO). Ar/CH₄ dry etches have excellent selectivity with respect to SiO₂, providing a route for obtaining patterned ZTO channels. A critical asset of ZTO process integration involves removing polymer deposits after ZTO etching without active layer damage. A ZTO process is developed for the fabrication of integrated circuits which use ZTO channel enhancement-mode TFTs. Such ZTO TFTs exhibit incremental and average mobilities of 23 and 18 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, respectively, turn-on voltages approximately 0 to 1.5 V and subthreshold swings below 0.5 V/dec when annealed in air at 400 °C for 1 hour. Several types of ZTO TFT circuits are realized for the first time. Despite large parasitic capacitances due to large gate-source and gate-drain overlaps, AC/DC rectifiers are fabricated and found to operate in the MHz range. Thus, they are usable for RFID and other equivalent-speed applications. Finally, a ZTO process for simultaneously fabricating both enhancement-mode and depletion-mode TFTs on a single substrate using a single target and anneal step is developed. This dual-channel process is used to build a high-gain two-transistor enhancement/depletion inverter. At a rail voltage of 10 V, this inverter has a gain of 10.6 V/V, the highest yet reported for an AOS-based inverter. This E/D inverter is an important new functional block which will enable the realization of more complex digital logic circuits. / Graduation date: 2009

It has been hypothesized that increasing the number of active sites on a cochlear implant electrode array will enable the recipient to distinguish a higher number of pitch precepts, thus creating a more natural sound. While DSP processing strategies for cochlear implants have evolved significantly to address this, technology for the actual electrode array has remained relatively constant and limits the number of physical electrodes possible. Previous work introduced the concept of using Thin-Film Array (TFA) technology to allow for much higher site densities, although the original devices proved unreliable during surgical insertion tests. This work presents a new method of combining polyimide-based TFA's with supporting silicone insertion platforms to create assembled electrode arrays that are a more viable option for surgical insertion. The electrical and mechanical properties of these assemblies are investigated with physical deformation tests and finite element analysis in COMSOL to quantify how they will perform upon insertion into the cochlea, and the preliminary results of a surgical insertion study into human cadaveric temporal bones will be discussed.

Starting with tensor calculus and the variational form of the Hamiltonian functional, a generalized theory is formulated for doubly curved thin shells. The formulation avoids geometric approximations commonly adopted in other formulations. The theory is then specialized for cylindrical and toroidal shells as special cases, both of interest in the modeling of straight and elbow segments of pipeline systems. Since the treatment avoids geometric approximations, the cylindrical shell theory is believed to be more accurate than others reported in the literature. By adopting a set of consistent geometric approximations, the present theory is shown to revert to the well known Flugge shell theory. Another set of consistent geometric approximations is shown to lead to the Donnell-Mushtari-Vlasov (DMV) theory. A general closed form solution of the theory is developed for cylinders under general harmonic loads. The solution is then used to formulate a family of exact shape functions which are subsequently used to formulate a super-convergent finite element. The formulation efficiently and accurately captures ovalization, warping, radial expansion, and other shell behavioural modes under general static or harmonic forces either in-phase or out-of-phase. Comparisons with shell solutions available in Abaqus demonstrate the validity of the formulation and the accuracy of its predictions. The generalized thin shell theory is then specialized for toroidal shells. Consistent sets of approximations lead to three simplified theories for toroidal shells. The first set of approximations has lead to a theory comparable to that of Sanders while the second set of approximation has lead to a theory nearly identical to the DMV theory for toroidal shells. A closed form solution is then obtained for the governing equation. Exact shape functions are then developed and subsequently used to formulate a finite element. Comparisons with Abaqus solutions show the validity of the formulation for short elbow segments under a variety of loading conditions. Because of their efficiency, the finite elements developed are particularly suited for the analysis of long pipeline systems.

Starting with tensor calculus and the variational form of the Hamiltonian functional, a generalized theory is formulated for doubly curved thin shells. The formulation avoids geometric approximations commonly adopted in other formulations. The theory is then specialized for cylindrical and toroidal shells as special cases, both of interest in the modeling of straight and elbow segments of pipeline systems. Since the treatment avoids geometric approximations, the cylindrical shell theory is believed to be more accurate than others reported in the literature. By adopting a set of consistent geometric approximations, the present theory is shown to revert to the well known Flugge shell theory. Another set of consistent geometric approximations is shown to lead to the Donnell-Mushtari-Vlasov (DMV) theory. A general closed form solution of the theory is developed for cylinders under general harmonic loads. The solution is then used to formulate a family of exact shape functions which are subsequently used to formulate a super-convergent finite element. The formulation efficiently and accurately captures ovalization, warping, radial expansion, and other shell behavioural modes under general static or harmonic forces either in-phase or out-of-phase. Comparisons with shell solutions available in Abaqus demonstrate the validity of the formulation and the accuracy of its predictions. The generalized thin shell theory is then specialized for toroidal shells. Consistent sets of approximations lead to three simplified theories for toroidal shells. The first set of approximations has lead to a theory comparable to that of Sanders while the second set of approximation has lead to a theory nearly identical to the DMV theory for toroidal shells. A closed form solution is then obtained for the governing equation. Exact shape functions are then developed and subsequently used to formulate a finite element. Comparisons with Abaqus solutions show the validity of the formulation for short elbow segments under a variety of loading conditions. Because of their efficiency, the finite elements developed are particularly suited for the analysis of long pipeline systems.

Piezoelectric materials are widely used for sensors, actuators and trasducers. Traditionally, piezoelectric applications are dominated by multicomponent oxide ferroelectrics such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which have the advantage of high piezoelectric coefficients. Recently, one-dimensional piezoelectric nanostructures such as nanowires of zinc oxide (ZnO) and gallium nitride (GaN) has gained a lot of attention due to their combined piezoelectric and semiconducting properties. The focus of this thesis is to study the processing and electric properties of such piezoelectric thin films and nanostructures for various applications. There is an increasing interest to form thin films of multicomponent ferroelectric oxides such as PZT on three-dimensional structures for charge storage and MEMS applications. Traditional vapor phase deposition techniques of PZT offer poor conformality over threedimensional surfaces due to their reactant transport mechanisms. As an alternative, solgel synthesis may provide new process possibilities to overcome this hurdle but the film quality is usually inferior, and the yield data was usually reported for small device areas. The first part of this study is dedicated to the characterization of the electric properties and yield of PZT thin film derived from the sol-gel process. PZT thin films with good electric property and high yield over a large area have been fabricated. La doping was found to double the breakdown field due to donor doping effect. LaNiO3 thin films that can be coated on a three-dimensional surface have been synthesized by an all-nitrate based sol-gel route, and the feasibility to form a conformal coating over a three-dimensional surface by solution coating techniques has been demonstrated. ZnO and GaN micro/nanowires are promising piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting and piezotronic device applications. The second part of this study is focused on the growth of ZnO and GaN micro/nanowires by physical vapor deposition techniques. The morphology and chemical compositions are revealed by electron microscopy. Utilizing the as-grown ZnO nanowires, single nanowire based photocell has been fabricated, and its performance was studied in terms of its response time, repeatability, excitation position and polarization dependence upon He-Cd UV-laser illumination. The excitation position dependence was attributed to the competition of two opposite photo- and thermoelectric currents originated from the two junctions. The excitation polarization dependence was attributed to the difference in optical properties due to crystallographic anisotropy. Employing the as-grown GaN nanowires, single nanowire based strain sensor is demonstrated, and its behavior is discussed in terms of the effect of strain-induced piezopotential on the Schottky barrier height.

The present study describes the growth and characterization of pulsed laser ablated Bao.sSro.sTiOs (BST) thin films. Emphasis has been laid on the study of a plausible correlation between structure and property in order to optimize the processing parameters suitably for required application. An attempt has been made to understand the basic properties such as, origin of dielectric response, charge transfer under low and high-applied electric fields across the BST capacitor and finally the dielectric breakdown process. Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction on the application of ferroelectric thin films in microelectronic industry and its growth techniques. It also addresses the present issues involved in the introduction of BST as a capacitor material for high-density dynamic random access memories. Chapter 2 outlines the motivation for the present study and briefly outlines the research work involved. Chapter 3 describes the experimental procedure involved in the growth and characterization of BST thin films using pulsed laser ablation technique. Details include the setup design for PLD growth, material synthesis for the ceramic targets, deposition conditions used for thin film growth and basic characterizations methods used for study of the grown films. Chapter 4 describes the effect of systematic variation of deposition parameters on the physical and electrical properties of the grown BST films. The variation in processing conditions has been found to directly affect the film crystallinity, structure and morphology. The change observed in these physical properties may also be correlated to the observed electrical properties. This chapter summarizes the optimal deposition conditions required for growing BST thin films using a pulsed laser ablation technique. Microstructure of BST films has been categorized into two types: (a) Type I structure, with multi-grains through the film thickness, for amorphous as-grown films after high temperature annealing (exsitu crystallized), and (b) columnar structure (Type II) films, which were as-grown well-crystallized films, deposited at high temperatures. The ac electrical properties have been reviewed in detail in Chapter 5. Type I films showed a relatively lower value of dielectric constant (e ~ 426) than Type II films with dielectric constant around 567. The dissipation factors were around 0.02 and 0.01 for Type I and Type II films respectively. The dispersion in the frequency domain characteristics has been quantitatively explained using Jonscher's theory. Complex impedance spectroscopy employed showed significant grain boundary response in the case of multi-grained Type I films while negligible contribution from grain boundaries has been obtained in the case of columnar grained Type II BST films. The average relaxation time r obtained from the complex impedance plane plots show almost three orders higher values for Type I films. The obtained results suggest that in multi-grained samples, grain boundary play a major role in electrical properties. This has been explained in accordance to a model proposed on the basis of depleted grains in the case of Type I films where the grain sizes are smaller than the grain boundary depletion width. Chapter 6 describes the dc leakage properties of the grown BST thin films and the influence of microstructure on the leakage properties. It was evident from the analysis of the graph of leakage current against measurement temperature, that, the observed leakage behavior in BST films, can not be attributed to a single charge transport mechanism. For Type I films, the Arrhenius plot of the leakage current density with 1000/T exhibits different regions with activation energy values in the range of 0.5 and 2.73 for low fields (2.5kV/cm). The activation energy changes over to 1.28 eV at high fields (170 kV/cm). The obtained values agree well with that obtained from the ac measurements, thus implying a similarity in the origin of the transport process. The activation energy value in the range of 0.5 eV is attributed to the electrode/film Schottky barrier, while the value in the range of 2.73 eV is due to deep trap levels originating from Ti+3 centers. The value in the range of 1.28 eV has been attributed to oxygen vacancy motion. Similar results have been obtained from the Arrhenius plot of the leakage current for Type II films. In this case, only two different activation energy values can be identified in the measured temperature and applied electric field range. At low fields the activation energy value was around 0.38 eV while at high fields the value was around 1.06 eV. These values have been identified to be originating from the electrode/film Schottky barrier and oxygen vacancy motion respectively. Thus a complete picture of the charge transport process in the case of BST thin film may be summarized as comprising of both electronic motion as well as contribution from oxygen vacancy motion. The effect of electrical stress on the capacitance-voltage (C-V) and the leakage current has been analyzed in Chapter 7. From the change in the zero bias capacitance after repeated electron injection through the films the values of the electronic capture cross-section and the total trap density for Type I and II films have been estimated. The results showed higher values for Type I film in comparison to Type II films. The difference has been attributed to the presence of grain boundaries and a different interface in the case of Type I films when compared to Type II films where the absence of grain boundaries is reflected in the columnar microstructure. A study of the time-dependent-dielectric-breakdown (TDDB) characteristics under high fields for Type I and Type II films showed higher endurance for Type I film. On the other hand space-charge-transient characteristics have been observed in the case of Type II films at elevated temperature of measurement. Mobility and activation energy values extracted from the transient characteristics are found to be in the range of 1 x 10~12 cm2 /V-sec and 0.73 eV respectively, suggesting a very slow charge transport process, which has been attributed to the motion of oxygen vacancies. An overall effect of electrical stress suggested that oxygen vacancy motion can be related to the observed resistance degradation and TDDB, which has been further enhanced by the combination of high temperature and high electric fields. Chapter 8 deals with the effect of intentional doping in the BST films. The doping includes Al at the Ti-site, Nb in the Ti-site and La at the Ba/Sr-site. The effect of doping was observed both on the structure and electrical properties of the BST films. Acceptor doping of 0.1 atomic 7c Al was found to decrease the dielectric constant as well as the leakage current. For higher concentration of acceptor-dopant, the leakage current was found to increase while showing space-charge-transient in the TDDB characteristics, again suggesting the effect of increased concentration of oxygen vacancies. Donor doping using 2 atomic % La and Xb significantly improved the leakage as well as the TDDB characteristics by reducing the concentration of oxygen vacancies. A further procedure using graded donor doping in the BST films exhibits even better leakage and TDDB properties. An unconventional, graded doping of donor cations has been carried out to observe the impact on leakage behavior, in particular. The leakage current measured for a graded La-doped BST film show almost six orders of lower leakage current in comparison to undoped BST films, while endurance towards breakdown has been observed to increase many-fold. Chapter 9 highlights the main findings of the work reported in this thesis and lists suggestions for future work, to explore new vistas ahead.