Thin films of lithium niobate: potential applications, synthesis methods, structure and properties

Abstract

In this chapter the contemporary overview of main properties of bulk lithium niobate (LiNbO3), the advantage of thin LiNbO3 films and their various applications in integrated electronics and optoelectronics are discussed. Different deposition techniques manifest their specific advantages and disadvantages. In radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS) being one of the effective fabrication methods, the formation of highly disperse mosaic structures is facilitated by the elementary processes of stochastic growth caused by the direction of flow, the content of charged atoms in it, and the wide spectrum of their energies. Structural and electrical properties of thin LiNbO3 films are affected by the depositions regimes. Charge transport in LiNbO3-based heterostructures is influenced by both contact and bulk electron phenomena.