LOW-TEMPERATURE GROWTH OF EPITAXIAL LINBO3 FILMS ON SAPPHIRE(0001) SUBSTRATES USING PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION

LiNbO3 films have been studied with various deposition techniques, including rf sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy, liquid phase epitaxy, and sol-gel process. Through pulsed laser deposition (PLD), high quality epitaxial LiNbO3 films were fabricated. High quality thin films were grown on c-cut sapphire substrates from a LiNbO3 single-crystal target. Reported are efforts to obtain epitaxial LiNbO3 thin films at a low deposition temperature of 400-450 °C. The oxygen pressure during the deposition was found to be an important parameter which influences crystalline orientations.