Abstract
Piezoelectric materials with useful properties find a wide range of applications including opto- and acousto- electronics. Lithium niobate in the form of a thin film is one of those promising materials and has a potential to improve ferroelectric random access memories devices, optical waveguides or acoustic delay lines by virtue of its physical characteristics, e.g. electro-optic coefficient, acoustic velocity, refractive indices etc. The key challenge to overcome is lithium nonstoichiometry as it leads to the appearance of parasite phases and thus aggravates physical and structural properties of a film. According to literature data, in order to obtain microcrystalline piezoelectric phase in previously amorphous films a set of methods is used. In our case we tried to synthesize LN films using congruent target and non-heated silicon substrate and then attain the piezoelectric phase by different annealing parameters. Afterwards LN films were compared to the ones synthesized on the silicon substrate with an additional buffer layer of platinum. Samples were studied by scanning probe microscope. Self-polarization vectors were defined. Based on domain structure images, the histograms of distribution of piezoresponse signals were built.
Highlights
Piezoelectrics are promising materials for various applications in actual and potential electronics, in particular opto- and acousto- electronics and guided photonics
Along with thermally stable piezoelectric modules and pyroelectric coefficients [1] this material possesses unique optical properties, which have a potential to upgrade optical waveguides, ferroelectric random access memories, high dielectric constant capacitors, acoustic delay lines, microwave tunable devices. Among those properties are electromechanical coupling coefficient (K2) [3], electro-optic coefficient, acoustic velocity and refractive indices; it is widely used in many diverse devices such as next-generation of high-frequency and/or wide-band RF filters or tuneable frequency filters adapted to the fifth generation of networks [4]
For the experimental research the thin film of LN was grown by RF magnetron sputtering
Summary
Piezoelectrics are promising materials for various applications in actual and potential electronics, in particular opto- and acousto- electronics and guided photonics. Rf magnetron sputtering, post-growth heat treatment, scanning probe microscopy, piezoelectric force microscopy, histogram of distribution of vertical and lateral piezoresponse In our case we used congruent target and tried to obtain films on a non-heated silicon substrate to minimize lithium volatility and enhance film’s piezoelectric properties and crystallinity by post-growth heat treatment.
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