Growth of oriented lithium niobate on silicon by alternating gas flow chemical beam epitaxy with metalorganic precursors

We present the results of investigations of LiNbO₃ film growth on Si by conventional chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) and by alternating gas flow deposition with alkoxide precursors. Both growth methods produced films with an intervening interface amorphous layer, whose thickness depends strongly on growth and annealing temperatures. While films grown by chemical beam epitaxy were always polycrystalline, the LiNbO₃ films grown by alternating gas flow deposition were oriented materials. Based on our studies, we hypothesize that the alternating layer deposition technique enhances bulk interdiffusion efficiency of metal ions leading to a more controlled epitaxy of LiNbO₃ on Si relative to conventional CBE growth.