PZT ferroelectric thin films were deposited on various substrates by the so
l-gel method. The close relationship between structure and refractive index
es was studied. The optical propagation losses of thin films were measured
using the prism-waveguide coupling technique. The optical propagation loss
of the films derived on SiO2/Si (111) substrates is increased by increasing
the heal treatment temperature. The optical propagation loss is not signif
icantly increased at increased coating thickness. Epitaxial PZT thin films
on SrTiO3(100) single crystal substrate had a single (001) orientation and
showed optical propagation loss as small as 14.2 dB/cm at 632 nm. (C) 2001
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