EPITAXIAL-GROWTH OF BATIO3 THIN-FILMS BY PLASMA-ENHANCED METALORGANIC CHEMICAL VAPOR-DEPOSITION

High-quality BaTiO3 thin films have been epitaxially grown on (001) LaAlO3 and (001) NdGaO3 substrates by plasma-enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition at a substrate temperature of 680-degrees-C. X-ray diffraction theta-2-theta, omega, and phi-scan results all indicate that single-crystalline BaTiO3 thin films were epitaxially grown on the substrates with [100] orientation perpendicular to the substrates. The high degree of epitaxial crystallinity is further confirmed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry which gives a minimum yield of 7.5% and 11% for films deposited on LaAlO3 and NdGaO3, respectively. Cross-section high-resolution electron microscopy images also showed that the layer epitaxy of BaTiO3 was characterized by an atomically abrupt film/substrate interface. Scanning electron micrographs showed that these films had very smooth surface morphologies.