C-axis-textured LiNbO3 thin films on Si (111) substrates

Abstract

We have successfully prepared highly c-axis-textured LiNbO3 films on hydrogen-terminated Si (111) substrate using sol-gel spin-coating and rapid thermal annealing. These highly c-axis-textured films were obtained with a preheating at 300°C for 15 min followed by a rapid thermal annealing at 500-700°C for 120s. The c-axis orientation of the LiNbO3 film is due to a weak effect caused by the 3-fold symmetry match between the film and the Si (111) substrate. The c-axis orientation of LiNbO3 films is very useful in integrated optics devices and metal-ferroelectric-semiconductor nonvolatile memory applications.