Influence of Nd Doping on the Properties of SrTiO<sub>3</sub> thin Films Synthesized by PLD on Different Substrates

Abstract

SrTiO3, SrTi0.99Nd0.01O3 and Sr0.99Nd0.01TiO3 thin films were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition at 700 °C on different substrates (silica, R-sapphire, (100) LaAlO3 and (100) MgO). The influence of Nd3+ substitution into the A and B sites of SrTiO3 perovskite on film growth was studied. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (θ–2θ, θ- and θ-scans), micro-Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. All of the films exhibited a (h00) orientation and high-quality epitaxial growth on LaAlOθ. The films grown on MgO, with the exception of the SrTiNd0.01O3 film, also exhibited a (h00) orientation. The polycrystallinity of the SrTi0.99Nd0.01O3 film may be related to the increased lattice distortion when Ti4+ was replaced with Nd3+. A polycrystalline growth was observed for all of the films deposited on silica and R-sapphire, as expected. The Raman results showed that Nd doping led to an increase in the short-range disorder. The morphology strongly depended on the nature of the substrate and on Nd doping, specially in the case of SrTi0.99Nd0.01O3.