Photolithographic patterning of nanocrystalline europium-titanate Eu2Ti2O7 thin films on silicon substrates

摘要

Patterned highly transparent nanocrystalline europium-titanate Eu2Ti2O7 thin films with tailored structural properties were prepared by a sol-gel approach combined with a photolithography. The amorphous thin films on silicon substrates were prepared by the sol-gel approach. Patterns were written by a photolithography process followed by wet-etching and the samples were thermally annealed forming the pure nanocrystalline phase of Eu2Ti2O7. Written patterns were crack-free and longitudinally homogenous and their lateral dimensions remained unchanged during the annealing. The lowest width of written ribs was 10 mu m. The film thickness was approximately 540 nm and the films consist of uniform nanocrystals of the size approximately 50 nm. The results can be used for preparation of patterned thin films that are suitable for a construction of integrated spintronic devices. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.