Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Using pulsed laser deposition, Bi4Ti3O12 thin films were grown on (0001) and (1102) surfaces of Al2O3. Substrate temperature from 700 to 800 °C and oxygen pressure from 50 to 1000 mtorr were varied, and their effects on Bi4Ti3O12 film growth behavior was investigated. Only for a narrow range of deposition parameters, can highly oriented Bi4Ti3O12(104) films be grown on Al2O3(0001). Further, epitaxial BTO(004) films can be grown on Al2O3(1102). The growth behavior of preferential BTO film orientations can be explained in terms of atomic arrangements in the Bi4Ti3O12 and the Al2O3 planes.