Abstract

In this work, Ba0.9Er0.1TiO3 thin films have been synthesized on SiO2/Si substrate using solgel method. The effect of annealing temperature on crystalline structure and surface morphology of the films has been studied via X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. XRD patterns reveal the crystalline structure with tetragonal phase for the films annealed at 700 °C and above. The lattice volume shows an increasing trend for the fabricated thin films with the increased annealing temperature. On the other hand, grain size obtained via AFM micrographs is increased along the increased annealing temperature which forms a larger grain during its crystallization process. The larger grain formation could be a better contribution to the alteration of other properties, but the formation of the immediate or secondary phases at 720 °C and above could also deteriorate the device performance. Among the samples, Ba0.9Er0.1TiO3 thin film that annealed at 700 °C shows the phase-pure crystalline BaTiO3 structure with no other phases, suggesting that 700 °C is the optimum annealing temperature for this type of material in our case.