Orientation control and laser-beam-assisted crystallization of sol-gel-derived, titanium-doped LiNbO3 thin films

Two processes for the crystallization of titanium-doped LiNbO3 (LNT) gel thin films were investigated in the present study, LNT gel thin films were prepared on platinized glass and platinized sapphire substrates, as the application of a platinum intermediate layer greatly affected the orientation of LNT films on these substrates. X-ray pole figures revealed the well-oriented growth for LiNbO3 both on the platinum (111)/sapphire C substrate and bare sapphire C, Another approach to crystallizing LNT gel film was attempted by developing a new technique to fabricate a LiNbO3 waveguide on the sapphire substrate using a Nd:YAG laser beam, The crystallization of LNT was achieved successfully with no cracking or peeling, The prepared crystalline LNT films also were characterized by Raman microspectroscopy.