Study on preparing PLT(28) thin film and its electro-optic effect

PLT(28) thin films deposited on glass substrates were studied by two sputtering processes. One is an in situ magnetron sputtering and the other is a low-temperature magnetron sputtering. The sintered PLT ceramic powders an used as a sputtering target for both processes, The influences of sputtering and annealing conditions on structure and crystallinity of the films were investigated, The electro-optic (E-O) properties of PLT(28) thin films prepared by the two processes were determined by a technique according to Faraday effect, The researches showed the E-O properties were strongly affected by the sputtering process, The film with larger grains exhibits stronger E-O effect, The quadratic E-O coefficient of PLT(28) thin film varies in the range of 0.1 x 10(-16) to 1.0 x 10(-16) (m/V)(2).