Enhanced self-repairing capability of sol-gel derived SrTiO3/nano Al2O3 composite films

SrTiO 3 /nano Al 2 O 3 inorganic nanocomposites were prepared by using a conventional sol-gel spin coating process. For comparison, SrTiO 3 films doped by equivalent amount of sol-Al 2 O 3 have also been investigated. Aluminum deposited by using vacuum evaporation was used as the top electrode. The nanocomposites exhibited a significantly enhanced dielectric strength of 506.9 MV/m, which was increased by 97.4% as compared with the SrTiO 3 films doped with sol-Al 2 O 3 . The leakage current maintained of the same order of microampere until the ultimate breakdown of the nanocomposites. The excellent electrical performances are ascribed to the anodic oxidation reaction in origin, which can repair the internal and/or surface defects of the films.