Ambient gas effects during the growth of lithium niobate films by pulsed laser deposition

The density of Li atoms in the plume generated by laser ablation of LiNbO3 has been studied using optical absorption spectroscopy in different environments (vacuum, Ar, O-2 and N2O). The results show that the density of Li atoms in the plume decreases when ablation takes place in a N2O environment. The analysis of the structure and composition of films grown under the considered environments shows that: (i) the Li content of the films remains approximately constant in all cases, (ii) the oxygen content for films grown in an oxidant environment (O-2 and N2O) increases, and (iii) the formation of niobium nitride is observed in a N2O environment. The results are discussed in terms of possible chemical reactions occurring in the plume in the presence of the considered gases, (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.