Solution synthesis of epitaxial films of bismuth containing ferroelectric materials

Methoxyethoxide complexes in 2-methoxyethanol were used to produce epitaxial thin films of SrBi2Nb2O9, SrBi2Ta2O9, BaBi2Nb2O9, and BaBi2Ta2O9 on [100] oriented single-crystals of SrTiO3 and LaAlO3. Films were prepared by spin coating substrates with alkoxide solutions and firing in air at 850 degrees C for 20 minutes, With the exception of BaBi2Ta2O9 on LaAlO3, all of the films were the desired c-axis oriented Aurivillius phase. Out-of-plane orientation was confirmed by theta;20 scans which showed only [002l] reflections, and in-plane orientation was determined by phi-scans about the [105] plane, Lattice constants and full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) values for both in-plane and out-of-plane reflections are reported.