K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ Thin Films Prepared by Chemical Solution Deposition

Abstract

The thin films of potassium sodium niobate (K _0.5 Na _0.5 )NbO ₃ on Pt(111)/TiO ₂ /SiO ₂ /Si substrates have been prepared by chemical solution deposition. The stoichiometric sols were synthesized from corresponding alkali metal ethoxides or acetates and niobium ethoxide in 2-methoxyethanol. The thin film quality is affected by choice of alkali metal precursors. Thin films prepared from the acetate-based sol upon heating to 670°C crystallize in pure perovskite phase. The dielectric permittivity of the 350 nm thick KNN film at 10 kHz is 533 and the dielectric loss factor is 0.068.

Keywords:

• Chemical solution deposition
• KNN thin films
• properties

Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledges the support of the EU Centre of Excellence SICER (G1MA-CT-2002-04029) and Network of Excellence MIND (NOE 51575-2), and Slovenian Research Agency (P2 – 0105). The authors would like to thank Dr. Janez Jamnik from the National Institute of Chemistry who kindly allowed access to the Field Emission Scanning Microscope.