SYNTHESIS OF ORIENTED THIN-FILMS OF FERROELECTRIC SBNBO4 ON SI BY PULSED-LASER ABLATION

The stibiotantalite family includes a number of ferroelectrics and ant iferroelectrics with excellent potential for applications. We report t he deposition of phase-pure, oriented thin films of SbNbO4 on Si(100) substrates using pulsed laser ablation. The deposition conditions were optimized with respect to substrate temperature, laser parameters, an d the ambient oxygen pressure. The films were characterized by x-ray d iffraction and electron microprobe analysis, while their microstructur e was studied by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microsc opy. Dielectric studies indicated that these films are ferroelectric w ith a T-C congruent to 500 degrees C and epsilon(max)congruent to 200. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(98)01107-4].