Epitaxial growth and dielectric properties of BaTiO3 films on Pt electrodes by reactive evaporation

Electron diffraction and transmission electron microscope analyses of BaTiO3 thin films on Pt/MgO substrates reveal the absence of other phase formations at the onset of epitaxial growth. An increase in rate of deposition converts the BaTiO3 islands on the Pt surface to a continuous layer, as revealed by atomic force microscopy. Enhancement of film thickness causes a variation in lattice parameters and dielectric properties. The thermodynamic theory accounts for the increase in dielectric constant with film thickness up to a value of 700.