Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 films on La2Ti2O7 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

We report the synthetic and physical procedures for obtaining the Lanthanum-substituted Bi4Ti3O12 (BLT) ferroelectric films, Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12, with its polarisation axis (a) oriented perpendicular to the surface of the electrode by employing partially oriented (001) polycrystalline thin films of La2Ti2O7 (LTO) as a buffer onto Si-wafers. The LTO thin film was achieved by dip coating and annealing at high temperatures while the BLT film was deposited using RF magnetron sputtering and annealing at a temperature as low as 650 degrees C. Furthermore, the dependence of the thickness, grain size and orientation of the LTO films on the withdrawal speed of the dip-coating and annealing temperature is reported.