Highly oriented (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on amorphous substrates

PLZT (lead lanthanum zirconate titanate) thin films have been deposited on various substrates, particularly on amorphous SiO₂ , and on Si or GaAs with a buffer layer such as SiO₂. Regardless of whether the substrate is single crystal or not, many films are highly oriented with one of the [100], [110], or [111] directions normal to the substrate surfaces. Depending on the PLZT composition, substrate material, and deposition conditions, there are ten different film categories. Among these films the most interesting ones are the highly oriented films deposited on amorphous SiO₂ substrate because of the possibility of monolithic integration of integrated-optical thin film devices on Si and GaAs with a nonlattice matched buffer layer of SiO₂, the best optical transparent material for waveguiding and integrated optics. The crystal structure, grain size, morphology, composition, and symmetry of the thin film on SiO₂ have been studied