High-optical-quality LiNbO3 thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition

We report the successful growth of high optical quality LiNbO 3 thin films (high birefringence and good transparency over the entire visible spectral range) by pulse laser deposition (PLD) on Si substrates. PLD of a LiNbO 3 single-crystal target was carried out using a KrF* excimer laser ((lambda) equals 248 nm, E equals 80 mJ, (tau) equals 20 ns, v equals 2 Hz). The thin films have been deposited in oxygen and, for some of them, a thermal treatment has been applied in an oxygen atmosphere. The thin films have been characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.