Optimized Parameters for Synthesis of BaTiO₃ Films With High Electromechanical Coupling

This research improves upon prior research efforts on the hydrothermal synthesis of barium titanate (BaTiO₃) films. It has been established that BaTiO₃ can be synthesized using a two-step hydrothermal reaction that first synthesizes TiO₂ then converts it to BaTiO₃. Past research, however, resulted in relatively low ferroelectric properties using this technique. The research addresses that shortcoming by offering an optimized hydrothermal synthesis process that significantly increase the electromechanical coupling of the BaTiO₃ film. Here, it is shown that the d₃₃ achieves a value of 80 pm/V, which is the bulk BaTiO₃ value. Additionally, this optimization results in an enhanced dielectric constant of 1600. Therefore, this research reveals that the ferroelectric properties of a hydrothermally synthesized BaTiO₃ film can be significantly enhanced through slight modifications in the hydrothermal processing procedure.