Epitaxial K0.5Na0.5NbO3 thin films by aqueous chemical solution deposition

We report on an environmental friendly and versatile aqueous chemical solution deposition route to epitaxial K0.5 Na0.5NbO3 (KNN) thin films. The route is based on spin coating of an aqueous solution of soluble precursors on SrTiO3 single crystal substrates followed by pyrolysis at 400 °C and annealing at 800 °C using rapid thermal processing. Strongly textured films with homogeneous thickness were obtained on three different crystallographic orientations of SrTiO3. Epitaxial films were obtained on (111) SrTiO3 substrates, while films consisting of an epitaxial layer close to the substrate followed by an oriented polycrystalline layer were obtained on (100) and (110) SrTiO3 substrates. A K2Nb4O11 secondary phase was observed on the surface of the thin films due to evaporation of alkali species, while the use of a NaCl/KCl flux reduced the amount of the secondary phase. Ferroelectric behavior of the films was investigated by PFM, and almost no dependence on the film crystallographic orie...