Structural studies of epitaxial BaTiO3 thin film on silicon

BaTiO3 thin films (60 nm-thick) grown on SrTiO3/Si templates have been characterized for their structural and electrical properties. The epitaxy of the BaTiO3 film on silicon was confirmed by X-ray diffraction with good crystallinity. The temperature-dependent structural properties were checked by infrared spectroscopy in absorption mode. The films were found to remain in a single ferroelectric phase over a temperature range from 5 to 385 K. Low-temperature orthorhombic-rhombohedral phase transitions characteristic of bulk BaTiO3 are absent in the films due to the clamping effect from the Si substrate.