Preparation of oriented PbTiO3 thin films using a spin-on sol-gel process

A novel sol-gel process for the preparation of grain-oriented thin films of PbTiO3 is reported. Using a moisture tolerant molecularly modified titanium isopropoxide and hydrated lead acetate PbTiO3 films with both c- and a-axis orientations could be prepared on platinized silicon substrates at 550 °C. The average grain size of films prepared at 600 °C was ≊0.1 μm. The a-axis orientation increased with further heat treatment at temperatures between 600 and 700 °C. The relative changes in the thin film orientation may be due to thin films stresses caused by thermal expansion mismatch existing during cooling through the Curie transition temperature.