No abstract

High-quality PbTiO3 thin films have been grown on LaAlO3 substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, using purified metalorganic precursors titanium-iso-propoxide and tetra-ethyl-lead. The results of the cross-section scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD), including theta and phi scan, show that the films are epitaxy, and a domains and c domains may align alternately in the thin films. The experiments of high-temperature XRD reveal the nature of the phase transition of grown PbTiO3 thin films from tetragonal to cubic phase. The transition temperature is around 460 °C which is far lower than that of bulk PbTiO3 and the thin films deposited on fused quartz substrates.

Single-crystalline and single-domain PbTiO3 films with thickness of 3000 Å have been prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), using metalorganic precursors of tetra-ethyl-lead and iso-propoxide titanium. The nature of single-crystalline epitaxy and single domain of as-grown films was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), synchrotron radiation (SR), and Rutherford backscattering (RBS). Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), the evidence of layer-by-layer growth was observed. The growth steps on the surface may be attributable to the formation of single-crystalline and single-domain PbTiO3 film with 3000-Å thickness.