Characterization of nanostructure ferrite material on gallium nitride on SiC substrate for millimeter wave integrated circuit

In this paper, for the first time, the characterization of spin-casted thick Barium nano-hexaferrite film on GaN-on-SiC substrate over a broad frequency range of 30-110 GHz is presented. Real and imaginary parts of both permittivity and permeability of the ferrite/polymer film are computed from transmittance data obtained by using a free space quasi-optical millimeter wave spectrometer. The spin-casted composite film shows strong resonance in the Q band, and mixing the powder with polymer slightly shifts the resonance frequency lower compared to pure powder. The high temperature compatibility of GaN substrate enables us to run burn-out tests at temperatures up to 900°C. Significant shortening phenomenon of resonance linewidth after heat treatment was found. Linewidth is reduced from 2.8 kOe to 1.7 kOe. Experiment results show that the aforementioned film is a good candidate in applications of non-reciprocal ferrite devices like isolators, phase shifters, and circulators.