Low-temperature crystallization induced by excimer laser irradiation of SrBi2Ta2O9 films

Abstract

Transition of a SrBi2Ta2O9 precursor film from amorphous to crystalline was inducedby excimer laser irradiation. Both fluorite and perovskite crystalline structures in suchfilms were obtained by excimer laser irradiation at substrate temperatures between 200and 500 °C. Either an addition of excess bismuth in the precursor film or an increasein the substrate temperature enhanced the formation of the perovskite structure in theexcimer laser-induced annealing process, resulting in the perovskite crystalline phase ata relatively lower temperature of 500 °C. Such a low temperature is preferred whenSrBi2Ta2O9 is used in ferroelectric devices. The mechanism involved in thislaser-induced crystallization is also discussed.