MgTiO3 thin films prepared by metalorganic solution deposition and their properties

Abstract

We have proposed the application of metatitanate MgTiO3 thin films for optical and microwave devices. MgTiO3 thin films have been prepared by metalorganic solution deposition. MgTiO3 thin films were grown on a-plane Al2O3 substrate for optical device applications and on platinized Si for microwave applications. Epitaxial MgTiO3 thin films were obtained on the a-plane Al2O3 substrate. These MgTiO3 thin films grown on Al2O3 have fine features in surface microstructures. The grain size of MgTiO3 thin films crystallized at a temperature of 700°C is less than 70 nm and increased with the crystallization temperature. MgTiO3 thin films grown on Al2O3 are transparent in the visible and have a sharp absorption edge at the wavelength of 270 nm. This transparency with fine microstructures, i.e. smooth surface and small grain size, of MgTiO3 thin films suggests the feasibility of MgTiO3 thin films for optical waveguides or as the buffer layer of multilayer integrated optic devices. MgTiO3 thin films made on Pt electrodes were highly 110 oriented and their surface morphology was also very fine. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of MgTiO3 thin films were 21 and 2% at 100 kHz, respectively.