Characterization of LiNb1 xTaxO3 composition-spread thin film by the scanning microwave microscope

Dielectric property of a composition-spread LiNb1 xTaxO3 thin film, fabricated by the combinatorial pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) method, was systematically characterized by the scanningmicrowave microscope (SmM). Measured frequency shift showed a broad maximum around x ¼ 0:2 0:5, and gradually decreased with x, resulting in a lower dielectric constant in the LiTaO3 side compared to the LiNbO3 side. The trend of frequency shift has been revealed to possess a strong correlation with the sharpness of XRD peak, suggesting that lowering of dielectric constant is principally brought about by the degradation of crystallinity. # 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V