Chemical Solution Deposition of Transparent and Metallic La0.5Sr0.5TiO3+x/2Films Using Topotactic Reduction

Metallic and transparent La0.5Sr0.5TiO3+x/2 films were prepared by the chemical solution deposition (CSD) method using topotactic reduction processing. The use of Si powder as the reducing agent was facile and allowed easy manipulation. It was observed that metallic (resistivity at 300 K ∼2.43 mΩ cm) and transparent (∼80% transmittance at visible light) La0.5Sr0.5TiO3+x/2 films could be obtained with an annealing temperature of 900°C, which was significantly lower than the hydrogen reduction temperature (∼1400°C). The successful preparation of metallic and transparent La0.5Sr0.5TiO3+x/2 films using CSD has provided a feasible route for depositing other perovskite-structured functional layers on La0.5Sr0.5TiO3+x/2 films using this low-cost all CSD method.