Nonlinear microwave properties of ferroelectric thin films

The nonlinear microwave properties of ferroelectric SrTiO3 thin films are characterized via complex analysis of the intermodulation distortion (IMD) signals up to high microwave power. The measurements reveal an unusual dependence of the IMD signals on the input power, which indicates the presence of two different nonlinear properties being responsible for the generation of IMD, i.e., the nonlinear permittivity and conductivity at low and high rf power levels, respectively. The IMD signal strength cannot be explained in terms of the classical description based on a Taylor expansion of the nonlinear parameter. In contrast, simulations of the frequency spectra using more appropriate descriptions of two nonlinear parameters yield an excellent agreement between theory and experiment, and, thus, demonstrate that the IMD experiments together with the simulation might provide further insight into the mechanism of nonlinear behavior of these materials. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics