Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 films crystallized on glass and platinized substrates by laser-assisted annealing at room temperature

In this work, Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 (BST) films were grown by pulse laser ablation on bare glass and platinized substrates. The crystalline phase was obtained with the help of laser-assisted annealing (LAA) at room temperature, in air environment. By adjusting LAA conditions, like frequency of the laser and number of shots, we were able to grow crack-free BST thin films with pure perovskite phase on bare glass and platinized substrates. The crystalline layer was found to be the same irrespective of the substrate used, c.a. 250 nm thick. The electric characteristics of the amorphous and LAA crystalline BST films deposited on platinized substrate were further studied and analyzed. While in amorphous films it was found that the oxygen defects are responsible for conduction, in LAA films the amorphous/crystalline interface layer plays an important role in current leakage.This study has been partially funded by: (i) European COST Actions MP0901-NanoTP and MP0903-Nano- Alloy; (ii) Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through the Strategic Project Pest-C/FIS/UI0607/2011. The authors would also like to thank Engineers Jose´ Santos and José Cunha for technical support at the Thin Film Laboratory. The author J.P.B.S. thanks FCT for the financial support (grant SFRH/BD/44861/2008)