Epitaxy

Sputter deposition

Engineering

Materials science

Chromatography

Layer (electronics)

Nuclear magnetic resonance

Perovskite (structure)

Silicon

Chemical engineering

Substrate (aquarium)

Cavity magnetron

Geology

Surface roughness

Oceanography

Physics

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Stoichiometry

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Thin film

Composite material

Analytical Chemistry (journal)

Crystallography

Chemistry

Optoelectronics

Sputtering

Thin Solid Films

In this study, we discuss the case for integration of epitaxial (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 (PLZT) thin films with silicon for electro-optic device applications. PLZT films, approximately 500 nm thick, were grown by on-axis radio frequency magnetron sputtering on CeO2/YSZ-buffered Si(100) substrate with a SrRuO3 electrode layer embedded between CeO2 and PLZT. The structural properties and surface topography of the different oxide layers were examined with X-ray diffraction analysis and atomic force microscopy. The perovskite thin films were predominantly (001)-oriented, with a (002) rocking curve halfwidth of approximately 0.3° and a surface roughness compatible with requirements for application in optical devices. The PLZT cation stoichiometry was assessed from quantitative X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These measurements uncovered a substantial depletion of lead in the film surface for layers deposited at substrate temperatures above ~ 600 °C, whereas the surface concentration of La, Zr and Ti remained virtually unaffected over a wide range of growth temperatures.

Epitaxial (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on buffered Si(100) by on-axis radio frequency magnetron sputtering