Growth of textured LiNbO3 thin film on Si (111) substrate by pulsed laser deposition

Highly c-axis oriented LiNbO3 thin films have been deposited on Si (111) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. A stoichiometric sintered LiNbO3 is used as the target. The c-axis orientation and stoichiometry of LiNbO3 films are strongly influenced by substrate temperature and oxygen pressure. The substrate temperature 600 degrees C and oxygen pressure 20-30 Pa are found to be optimized parameters for the growth of textured film. The results showed that the size and the density of droplets decreased with increasing substrate temperature, and droplets would disappear when substrate temperature is increased above 600 degrees C. The surface microstructures of LiNbO3 films under optimized conditions are fine, uniform and dense. The AFM images ensured that the as-grown films are good enough to be integrated with the semiconductor devices. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.