C-axis oriented sol-gel derived LiNb1-xTaxO3 thin films on Si(111) substrates

We have successfully prepared highly c-axis oriented sol-gel derived LiNb1- xTaxO3 films on Si(lll) substrates. The orientations of LiNb1-xTaxO3 films for different values of the tantalum composition, x, are investigated Highl y c-axis oriented films were obtained in the composition range of 0 < x < 0 .33 and the degree of the orientation was found to be relatively low when 0 .5 < x < 1. The c-axis orientation of the films is believed to result from a weak effect caused by the 3-fold symmetry match between the film and the Si(lll) substrate. C-axis oriented LiNb1-xTaxO3 films are very useful in in tegrated optical devices, pyroelectric devices, and metal-ferroelectric-sem iconductor nonvolatile memory applications. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.