Epitaxial growth of lithium niobate thin films from a single-source organometallic precursor using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Lithium niobate thin films were deposited on (0001) sapphire using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. An organometallic compound, formed by reaction of lithium dipivaloylmethanate and niobium(V) ethoxide, was used as a single-source precursor. The epitaxial nature of the films was established by x-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering analyses (RBS).