Towards the integration of epitaxially grown KTN thin films in silicon technology

The use of a high quality SrTiO3 buffer layer was investigated in order to give access to the integration in standard silicon technology of KTa1 - xNbxO3 thin films, grown by pulsed laser deposition. The buffer layer was previously epitaxially grown onto Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy, using a process implying seed and sacrificial layers of strontium. The 40 nm thick SrTiO3 underlayer acts together as a matching layer, a seed layer and an anti-diffusion barrier, preventing the formation of the undesired competing pyrochlore phase. High crystalline quality perovskite single-phase epitaxial KTa1 - xNbxO3 thin films were reproducibly obtained by the use of this process.