Growth of a textured Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 thin ®lm on LaNiO3/Si(0 0 1) using pulsed laser deposition

The structural characteristics of LaNiO3/Si(0 0 1) ®lms grown by pulsed laser deposition have been studied mainly using a synchrotron X-ray scattering measurement. The ®lms were grown with the (0 0 l) preferred orientation without any alignment in the in-plane direction. The initially unstrained ®lm became strained gradually as it grew further, but its crystalline quality improved signi®cantly. A fully (0 0 l) textured Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 ®lm was successfully grown on such a (0 0 l) textured LaNiO3/Si(0 0 1) substrate as low as 3508C. The nature of structure and microstructure of the Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 ®lm appeared to be similar to that of the underlaying LaNiO3 ®lm. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.