Growth of PbTiO₃ nano crystals on atomically flat substrate by magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Preparation of PbTiO3 nano-crystals have been interesting as investigation of ferroelectric size effect, high quality ultra thin film growth and nano-scale storage media. In this study, formation of atomically flat surface of sapphire and growth of PbTiO3 nano crystals on the surface by sputtering were investigated. The atomically flat surface with step-terrace structure was obtained by annealing at 1000oC, and the PbTiO3 deposition on the surface was performed. The surface morphology of obtained specimen was observed by AFM. The dependences of the morphology on annealing temperature, mis-cut angle and deposition rate were investigated. The nano crystals with near uniformity were grown at step edge at low growth rate deposition, revealing that the self-assembled nano crystals can be obtained on atomically flat substrates of sapphire with optimize growth condition.