Full Paper

Perfect Bi4Ti3O12 Single-Crystal Films via Flux-Mediated Epitaxy†

  1. R. Takahashi1,3,
  2. Y. Yonezawa1,4,
  3. M. Ohtani5,
  4. M. Kawasaki3,5,
  5. K. Nakajima3,
  6. T. Chikyow3,
  7. H. Koinuma1,3,6,
  8. Y. Matsumoto1,2

Article first published online: 19 JAN 2006

DOI: 10.1002/adfm.200500390

Issue

Advanced Functional Materials

Advanced Functional Materials

Volume 16, Issue 4, pages 485–491, March, 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

Takahashi, R., Yonezawa, Y., Ohtani, M., Kawasaki, M., Nakajima, K., Chikyow, T., Koinuma, H. and Matsumoto, Y. (2006), Perfect Bi4Ti3O12 Single-Crystal Films via Flux-Mediated Epitaxy. Adv. Funct. Mater., 16: 485–491. doi: 10.1002/adfm.200500390

Author Information

  1. 1

    Materials and Structures Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuda-tyo, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan

  2. 2

    CREST Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan

  3. 3

    National Institute of Materials Science, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0047, Japan

  4. 4

    Fuji Electric Advanced Technology Co., Ltd., 4-18-4 Tsukama, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0821, Japan

  5. 5

    Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan

  6. 6

    Department of Advanced Materials Science, School of Frontier Science, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8568, Japan

  1. †

    Two of the authors (R. T. and M. O.) are supported by JSPS Research Fellowships for Young Scientists. This work is partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 16350110) in Japan. The authors thank H. Watanabe, Y. Ueki, J. Ishii, F. Togoh, and A. Ueda of Fuji Electric Corporate R&D, Ltd., for technical support and fruitful discussions in the SIMS, XPS, and μ-AES measurements.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 22 FEB 2006
  2. Article first published online: 19 JAN 2006
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 11 AUG 2005
  4. Manuscript Received: 24 JUN 2005

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Keywords:

  • Epitaxial growth;
  • Ferroelectric materials;
  • Single crystals;
  • Thin films, oxide

Abstract

Excellent crystallinity of material films and atomic control of their surface/interface, sufficient for the realization of their optimal physical properties, are technological premises for modern functional-device applications. Bi4Ti3O12 and related compounds attract much interest as highly insulating, ferroelectric materials for use in ferroelectric random-access memories. However, it has been difficult thus far for Bi4Ti3O12 films to satisfy such requirements when formed using vapor-phase epitaxy, owing to the high volatility of Bi in a vacuum. Here, we demonstrate that flux-mediated epitaxy is one of the most promising and widely applicable concepts to overcome this inevitable problem. The key point of this process is the appropriate selection of a multi-component flux system. A combinatorial approach has led to the successful discovery of the novel flux composition of Bi–Cu–O for Bi4Ti3O12 single-crystal film growth. The perfect single-crystal nature of the stoichiometric Bi4Ti3O12 film formed has been verified through its giant grain size and electric properties, equivalent to those of bulk single crystals. This demonstration has broad implications, opening up the possibility of preparing stoichiometric single-crystal oxide films via vapor-phase epitaxy, even if volatile constituents are required.

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