Growth of epitaxial (Ba_0.5,Sr _0.5 )TiO₃ thin films on silicon with a thin buffer layer

Epitaxial (Ba 0.5 ,Sr 0.5 )TiO 3 (BST) thin films have been grown on Si substrate with a very thin yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) buffer layer by pulsed-laser deposition. In these BST/YSZ heteroepitaxial structures, the axial relationship was BST[h00]//YSZ[h00]//Si[h00]. Crystallinity of an epitaxial BST films has been investigated using X-ray diffraction study and Φ-scan. The thickness of YSZ buffer layer affects the growth behavior of BST thin films. It is with very thin YSZ buffer layer, under 7 nm thick, that BST thin film is grown epitaxially on Si substrate.