Preparation and characterization of single crystalline anatase TiO2 epitaxial films on LaAlO3(001) substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Anatase phase TiO2 (a-TiO2) films have been fabricated on LaAlO3(001) substrates at the substrate temperatures of 500 to 650°C by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method using tetrakis-dimethylamino titanium (TDMAT) as the organometallic (OM) source. The structural studies revealed that the TiO2 film prepared at 600°C had the best single crystalline quality with no twins. The out-of-plane and in-plane epitaxial relationships of the films were a-TiO2(004)||LaAlO3(001) and TiO2[100]||LaAlO3[100], respectively. The optical band gap of the films ranged from 3.30 to 3.37eV. The morphology and composition of the TiO2 films have also been studied in detail.