Synthesis and characterisations of sol-gel-derived LaNiO<SUB align="right">3 thin-film electrodes on Si substrates

Abstract

We present the fabrication and characterisation of conductive LaNiO3 (LNO) thin films, deposited on different substrates including Si(100), SiO2/Si(100) and Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) by the sol–gel spin–coating technique. Deposition parameters, such as the sol concentration and annealing temperature as well as the number of coating layers, were optimised to obtain the desired film quality. X–ray diffraction analysis showed that crystalline and highly (110) oriented LNO thin films were obtained after annealing at 750C. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that LNO films show a dense and smooth surface. Moreover, the crystallites' size increased with increasing film thickness, which resulted in the enhancement of electrical conductivity. The well–controlled crystallinity and low resistivity of 3.73 10–4Ω.cm, measured on a film thickness of 200 nm, indicate that LNO thin films can be used as the template and electrode for the fabrication of integrated piezoelectric thin–films on Si substrates.