GROWTH OF HIGHLY TEXTURED LINBO3 THIN-FILM ON SI WITH MGO BUFFER LAYER THROUGH THE SOL-GEL PROCESS

Highly textured ferroelectric LiNbO3 thin films have been grown on MgO -buffered Si (100)/(111) through the sol-gel process under optimum con ditions. These films show a high degree of c-axis orientation regardle ss of the orientation of the Si substrates. Structural properties of t he films were strongly influenced by the thickness of the MgO buffer l ayer probably due to the strains induced by the lattice and the therma l mismatch. Optimum thickness of the MgO buffer layer was found to be about 50 nm for the growth of a highly textured LiNbO3 film. An epitax ial-like growth was observed by x-ray pole figure analysis for the fil m on MgO/Si(111) obtained under a rapid thermal process above 900 degr ees C. The surface morphology investigated by atomic force microscopy showed a growth behavior of crystalline grains as the thermal process was varied. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.