Pulsed laser deposition of stoichiometric LiNbO3 thin films by using O2 and Ar gas mixtures as ambients

Stoichiometric thin films of LiNbO3 have been deposited on (100) silicon by a pulsed excimer laser deposition technique. By studying several cases of depositions in vacuum, oxygen, and argon, as well as oxygen-argon mixture as ambients, it is brought out that the desired stoichiometry in the film can be attained only by having an appropriate oxygen-argon mixture during deposition. The films have been characterized by x-ray diffraction, infrared transmission, and spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques.