Electrical Conductivity and Barrier Properties of Lithium Niobate Thin Films

The thin-film structures made of LiNbO₃ and obtained via laser ablation and magnetron sputtering are studied with volt-farad and volt-ampere characteristics. A potential barrier on the Si–LiNbO₃ interface was found for both types of the films with the capacitance-voltage characteristics. The current-voltage characteristics showed that there are several conduction mechanisms in the structures studied. The Poole–Frenkel effect and the currents limited by a space charge mainly contribute to the electrical conductivity in the LiNbO₃ film produced with the laser ablation method. The currents limited by a space charge contribute to the main mechanism in the film heterostructure obtained with the magnetron sputtering method.