Epitaxial growth of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ thin films using RF magnetron sputtering

We fabricated Li₄Ti₅O₁₂(111) epitaxial thin films on α-Al₂O₃(0001) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. Thin films of amorphous Li₄Ti₅O ₁₂ were deposited at room temperature, and then the films were annealed at high temperatures for the formation of epitaxial thin films. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of niobium (Nb) incorporation into Li₄Ti₅O₁₂. The Nb-incorporated Li ₄Ti₅O₁₂ thin films showed an improvement in crystallinity with a narrower rocking curve full width at half-maximum of 0.36o for the Li₄Ti₅O₁₂(111) peak. Further, the resistivity of the Nb-incorporated film dropped three orders of magnitude on the Nb incorporation.