Orientation Control and Laser‐Beam‐Assisted Crystallization of Sol‐Gel‐Derived, Titanium‐Doped LiNbO 3 Thin Films

Two processes for the crystallization of titanium‐doped LiNbO 3 (LNT) gel thin films were investigated in the present study. LNT gel thin films were prepared on platinized glass and platinized sapphire substrates, as the application of a platinum intermediate layer greatly affected the orientation of LNT films on these substrates. X‐ray pole figures revealed the well‐oriented growth for LiNbO 3 both on the platinum (111)/sapphire C substrate and bare sapphire C. Another approach to crystallizing LNT gel film was attempted by developing a new technique to fabricate a LiNbO 3 waveguide on the sapphire substrate using a Nd:YAG laser beam. The crystallization of LNT was achieved successfully with no cracking or peeling. The prepared crystalline LNT films also were characterized by Raman microspectroscopy. S. E. Trolier‐McKinstry—contributing editor