Ferroelectric Capacitors for Pulse Power Electronics

HIGH-DENSITY ENERGY STORAGE AND FAST DISCHARGE WILL BE CRITICAL IN A VARIETY OF HIGH POWER AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS. CAPACITORS ARE IDEAL FOR THESE PURPOSES, AS WELL AS FOR POWER CONDITIONING AND FILTERING. UNFORTUNATELY, BULK POWDER-BASED DIELECTRICS USED IN CAPACITORS HAVE SEVERE LIMITATIONS, ESPECIALLY THE HIGH NUMBER OF SHORT-INDUCING DEFECTS CAUSED BY POOR CONTROL OF MATERIAL PROPERTIES IN CERAMIC FABRICATION PROCESSES. WE PROPOSE TO LEAPFROG CURRENT CAPACITOR TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE CONTROLLED GROWTH OF HIGH DIELECTRIC CONSTANT AND HIGH DIELECTRIC STRENGTH THIN FILMS ON MECHANICALLY STRONG SUBSTRATES. HIGH RATE MOCVD IS PROPOSED AS A GROWTH METHOD, SIMILAR TO WHAT IS CURRENTLY USED IN INDUSTRY TO MAKE CM THICK ZnSe IR WINDOWS. IN PHASE I, METHODOLOGY WILL BE DEVELOPED TO DEPOSIT THICK Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO(3) FILMS ON CONDUCTING OXIDE ELECTRIDES FOR USE IN HIGH ENERGY DENSITY CAPACITORS. IN PARTICULAR THICK FILMS OF Ba(0.5)Sr(0.5)TiO(3), WHICH HAS DEMONSTRATED DIELECTRIC CONSTANTS GREATER THAN 800 WITH BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES OF 1.5-2 MV/cm (45-60 kV/MIL), WILL BE GROWN. IN PHASE II, THE MOCVD DEPOSITION PROCESS WILL BE SCALED UP TO COMMERCIAL VOLUMES, MULTILAYERS AND ELECTRODING EXAMINED, AND PARTNERSHIPS ESTABLISHED TO VALIDATE THIS TECHNOLOGY IN THE MARKETPLACE THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF PROTOTYPE HIGH ENERGY DENSITY CAPACITORS.