Pulsed laser deposition of (001) textured LiNbO3 films on Al2O3/SiO2/Si substrate

Abstract On SiO 2 /Si substrate (Si wafer with thermally oxidized SiO 2 coating), only polycrystalline LiNbO 3 thin films were normally obtained. In this work, we found that an ultrathin layer of predeposited Al 2 O 3 layer on SiO 2 /Si has greatly mediated the growth pattern of the subsequently deposited LiNbO 3 films. As a result, highly or completely (001) textured LiNbO 3 films were achieved depending on the substrate temperature and the thickness of Al 2 O 3 as well. The textured growth phenomenon is discussed in terms of surface energy relation.