New Fabrication Technique of LiNbO₃ Thin Film on a Silica Substrate

Abstract

A method for growing single crystal thin films on silica or silicon substrates was investigated. In this method, which we call “contact epitaxy,” epitaxial growth occurs during thermal treatment when a single-crystal chip is pressed against an amorphous thin film. The effectiveness of the contact epitaxy was demonstrated by fabricating single-crystal Ce substituted YIG thin films, and the growth of LiNbO ₃ single crystal thin film on silica snd Si substrates was also examined. A z-axis-oriented LN thin film was obtained, and its piezoelectric response was close to that of single-crystal contact chip.

Keywords:

• Epitaxial growth
• single-crystal film
• silica
• YIG
• LiNbO₃
• thermal treatment

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (No. 19560322).