Heteroepitaxial growth of Lithium Niobate Thin Films on sapphire substrates with different orientations by Pulsed-Laser Deposition

In this study, epitaxial LiNbO
3
thin films were successfully grown on a - and c-Al
2
O
3
substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). In order to control the film crystallinity and chemical composition, the influence of different growth parameters, such as substrate temperature, oxygen pressure, and target composition, were studied. The physical and chemical properties of the as-deposited LiNbO
3
layers were characterized.