BaTiO3 thin films obtained by sol–gel spin coating

BaTiO3 thin film deposition techniques are the subject of many research studies mainly due to their influence on the optical and electrical properties of this material, which are of increasing interest for the processing of opto- and microelectronic devices. In this work, BaTiO3 thin films were grown onto silicon substrates by using a sol–gel spin coating procedure from Ba(OH)2 and tetraisopropyl–orthotitanate (TIPT)-based precursors. The as-grown films were annealed at different temperatures. Both the preparation of the starting solutions through a multi-step process together with an activation energy reached by sintering at approximately 800 °C, were the most important parameters necessary to obtain the ferroelectric phase in these films. The evolution of the network bonds and the structural characterization of the films was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, respectively. In order to ascertain the suitability of BaTiO3 films for the processing of electronic devices, the electrical behaviour (I–V curves) of different thin films was also determined.