Pulsed laser deposition of lithium niobate: a parametric study

We report the deposition of high optical quality LiNbO3 thin films on Si(ll l) substrates by pulsed laser ablation using a KrF* excimer laser (lambda = 248 nm, tau = 20 ns) source. Experiments have been conducted in oxygen at 5-20 Pa. Si(lll) collectors were uniformly heated at 500-700 degrees C. Som e of the as-deposited collectors were submitted to an in-situ thermal treat ment in oxygen (10(3)-10(4) Pa) at the same temperature. The deposited thin films were characterised by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), t ransmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Our LiNbO3 thin films, achieved at relatively low temperature (550 degrees C), are the first textured and high optical quality pulsed laser deposited films on Si. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.