The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO3 Thin Films

Qi, Fugang; Peng, Shaoqin; Bi, Jiachang; Zhang, Shunda; Su, Guanhua; Li, Peiyi; Zhang, Jiahui; Zhang, Tengteng; Zhou, Weisong; Zhang, Ruyi; Cao, Yanwei

doi:10.3390/cryst14040304

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The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Thin Films

by

Fugang Qi

^1,2,*,†,

Shaoqin Peng

^2,3,†,

Jiachang Bi

²,

Shunda Zhang

^2,4,

Guanhua Su

^2,4,

Peiyi Li

^1,2,

Jiahui Zhang

²,

Tengteng Zhang

²,

Weisong Zhou

²,

Ruyi Zhang

² and

Yanwei Cao

^2,4,*

¹

School of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China

²

Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China

³

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 315201, China

⁴

Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Crystals 2024, 14(4), 304; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040304

Submission received: 20 February 2024 / Revised: 7 March 2024 / Accepted: 12 March 2024 / Published: 26 March 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epitaxial Growth and Application of Metallic Oxide Thin Films)

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Abstract

Barium titanate (BaTiO₃) is a promising material for silicon-integrated photonics due to its large electro-optical coefficients, low loss, high refractive index, and fast response speed. Several deposition methods have been employed to synthesize BaTiO₃ films. Magnetron sputtering is one of these methods, which offers specific advantages for growing large-scale films. However, there is a scarcity of studies investigating the effect of sputtering target density on the quality of BaTiO₃ films. Therefore, this study aims to uncover the effect of sputtering targets on the crystal and electronic structures of epitaxial BaTiO₃ thin films. Two BaTiO₃ ceramic targets were sintered at different densities by altering the sintering temperatures. The crystal structure and chemical composition of the targets were then characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Subsequently, BaTiO₃ epitaxial films were grown by magnetron sputtering using these two targets. The crystal and electronic structures of the BaTiO₃ films were analyzed using high-resolution X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Notably, the BaTiO₃ films grown with high-density targets show superior quality but contain oxygen vacancies, whereas those films synthesized with low-density targets display high surface roughness. These findings provide insights into the effect of sputtering target density on the crystal and electronic structures of epitaxial BaTiO₃ thin films.

Keywords: RF sputtering; BaTiO₃ films; sputtering target; oxygen vacancy

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MDPI and ACS Style

Qi, F.; Peng, S.; Bi, J.; Zhang, S.; Su, G.; Li, P.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, T.; Zhou, W.; Zhang, R.; et al. The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Thin Films. Crystals 2024, 14, 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040304

AMA Style

Qi F, Peng S, Bi J, Zhang S, Su G, Li P, Zhang J, Zhang T, Zhou W, Zhang R, et al. The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Thin Films. Crystals. 2024; 14(4):304. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040304

Chicago/Turabian Style

Qi, Fugang, Shaoqin Peng, Jiachang Bi, Shunda Zhang, Guanhua Su, Peiyi Li, Jiahui Zhang, Tengteng Zhang, Weisong Zhou, Ruyi Zhang, and et al. 2024. "The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Thin Films" Crystals 14, no. 4: 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040304

APA Style

Qi, F., Peng, S., Bi, J., Zhang, S., Su, G., Li, P., Zhang, J., Zhang, T., Zhou, W., Zhang, R., & Cao, Y. (2024). The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Thin Films. Crystals, 14(4), 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14040304

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The Effect of Sputtering Target Density on the Crystal and Electronic Structure of Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Thin Films

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