Sol-Gel Synthesis of Epitaxial Films of (Sr,Ba)Bi2(Nb,Ta)2O9 and Bi4Ti3O12 on [100] SrTiO3

Abstract

ABSTRACTAn all-alkoxide sol-gel process utilizing methoxyethoxide complexes in 2-methoxyethanol was used to prepare epitaxial films of SrBi2Nb2O9, SrBi2Ta2O9, BaBi2Nb2O9, BaBi2Ta2O9, and Bi4Ti3O12 on [100] oriented SrTiO3 single crystals. Films were prepared by spin coating strontium titanate substrates with partially hydrolyzed alkoxide solutions and firing in air at 850 °C for 20 minutes. Out-of-plane orientation was confirmed by θ-2θ scans which showed only [002ℓ] reflections. In-plane orientation was determined by pole figures and phi-scans about the [105] plane in the case of the (Sr,Ba)Bi2(Nb,Ta)2O9 complexes and the [117] plane in the case of Bi4Ti3O12. Lattice constants and full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) values for both in-plane and out-of-plane reflections are reported.