SrTiO3 buffering effect on Pb1-xLaxTiO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Thin films of phase-pure perovskite PLT (Pb0.95La0.05Ti0.9875O3) were deposited in situ onto Si, Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si, and SrTiO3/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition from stoichiometric targets. No Pb loss was observed in the near-surface region. The blocking of the interdiffusion between inner Si substrate and the outer PLT films by SrTiO3 buffer layer was evidenced using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses. The formation of TiO2 second phase in PLT/Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si films was indicated by XRD and SIMS spectra to be the outward diffusion of Ti atoms from the underlying Ti layer through the Pt layer, reacting with ambient O-2 at the PLT-to-Pt interface. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.