Microstructure and optical properties of amorphous and crystalline PbZrO3 thin films grown on Si(100) substrates by a sol-gel process

Amorphous and crystalline PbZrO3 thin films deposited on Si(100) substrate have been prepared by a sol-gel process. The crystal structure and surface morphologies of the thin films have been studied by X-ray diffraction and a tomic force microscopy. The crystalline PbZrO3 film on Si(100) substrate is a pseudocubic structure with a (111) orientation. The refractive index II and extinction coefficient k of the amorphous and crystalline thin films we re obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry as a function of the photon energ y in the range from 2.0 to 5.4 eV. The absorption edges for amorphous and c rystalline PbZrO3 thin films are 4.07 and 3.63 eV, respectively. The absorp tion edge of the amorphous PbZrO3 film shift to high energy is mainly due t o the quantum-size effect. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.