Fabrication of La2Ti2O7 thin films by a sol-gel technique

Sol-gel thin films of La₂Ti₂O₁₇ were deposited on fused silica and Si( 100) substrates by a spin-coating process. The La₂Ti₂O₁₇ precursor solution for the spin-coating was prepared from lanthanum acetylacetonate and titanium iso-propoxide dissolved in 2-methoxyethanol. Crystalline and crack-free films of ∼ 0.3 μm thickness were deposited on the above sulastrates using a single coating and followed by annealing at a temperature of 800 "C. Microstructural studies revealed that these films contained extremely fine grains of ∼ 0.1 μm. Thin film X-ray diffraction patterns indicated the formation of grain oriented films along 100] direction on these substrates.