Large area pulsed laser deposition of bi-layered ferroelectric thin films

Ferroelectric thin films of Bi4Ti3O12 and SrBi2Ta2O9, the most studied Pi-layered perovskites, have been deposited on substrates up to 3 inch in diameter by the so-called off-axis Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique. This technique allows deposition with a good uniformity onto entire silicon or silicon-based S-inch wafers. In order to promote epitaxial growth, the Bi4Ti3O12 and SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films have also been deposited onto epitaxial thin film templates of CeO2/YSZ and on the conductive oxide (La1-xSrx)CoO3 (LSCO), itself deposited on a CeO2/YSZ epitaxial template. These electrode and buffer layers have been deposited by off-axis PLD as well. The thickness and composition uniformity of the ferroelectric films, electrodes and buffer layers are important parameters with regard to their possible application in integrated microelectronics. The thickness uniformities achieved are in the range of 5% to 15% of the mean thickness, depending on the material and deposition conditions.