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Epitaxially grown LiNbO3 thin films by polymeric precursor method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

V. Bouquet*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Química—LIEC, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, P.O. Box 676, 13 565–905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
M. I. B. Bernardi
Affiliation:
Departamento de Química—LIEC, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, P.O. Box 676, 13 565–905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
S. M. Zanetti
Affiliation:
Departamento de Química—LIEC, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, P.O. Box 676, 13 565–905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
E. R. Leite
Affiliation:
Departamento de Química—LIEC, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, P.O. Box 676, 13 565–905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
E. Longo
Affiliation:
Departamento de Química—LIEC, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, P.O. Box 676, 13 565–905 São Carlos, SP, Brazil
J. A. Varela
Affiliation:
Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual Paulista, P.O. Box 355, 14884-970 Araraquara, SP, Brazil
M. Guilloux Viry
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moléculaire, UMR CNRS 6511, Université de Rennes 1, Av. du Général Leclerc, 35 042 Rennes cedex, France
A. Perrin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Chimie du Solide et Inorganique Moléculaire, UMR CNRS 6511, Université de Rennes 1, Av. du Général Leclerc, 35 042 Rennes cedex, France
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: p-bouquet@iris.ufscar.br
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Abstract

LiNbO3 thin films were grown on (0001) sapphire substrates by a chemical route, using the polymeric precursor method. The overall process consists of preparing a coating solution from the Pechini process, based on metallic citrate polymerization. The precursor films, deposited by dip coating, are then heat treated to eliminate the organic material and to synthesize the phase. In this work, we studied the influence of the heat treatment on the structural and optical properties of single-layered films. Two routes were also investigated to increase the film thickness: increasing the viscosity of the coating solution and/or increasing the number of successively deposited layers. The x-ray diffraction θ-2θ scans revealed the c-axis orientation of the single- and multilayered films and showed that efficient crystallization can be obtained at temperatures as low as 400 °C. The phi-scan diffraction evidenced the epitaxial growth with two in-plane variants. A microstructural study revealed that the films were crack free, homogeneous, and relatively dense. Finally, the investigation of the optical properties (optical transmittance and refractive index) confirmed the good quality of the films. These results indicate that the polymeric precursor method is a promising process to develop lithium niobate waveguides.

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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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