Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2015
Comprehensive studies were done on the growth and characterization of TiNb2O7 (TNO) complex oxide thin films by pulsed laser deposition for the first time. The TNO thin films were successfully grown on Pt(200)/TiO2/SiO2/Si(100) substrates. The structure, surface morphology and chemical properties of as-grown thin films were studied as function of deposition temperature, pressure and laser fluence. The GIXRD and HRTEM analyses revealed that the as-grown TNO films were in the monoclinic crystal structure and independent of laser fluence. The HAADF STEM elemental mapping confirms the uniform composition of Ti, Nb and O in TNO thin films. The atomic force microscopy and field emission scanning microscopy shows that, the surface morphology and microstructure of TNO films varied significantly with respect to experimental conditions. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy quantitative results indicated that the binding energies of Ti and Nb elements shifted towards right with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The effects of oxygen partial pressure and laser fluence on as-grown TNO films were studied.