The search for electro-optic materials for integration in silicon photonics
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The goal of this thesis is to illuminate the potential of transition metal oxides electro-optic materials for integration in the flourishing field of silicon photonics. The background information on the electro-optic effect is given, together with formalism of how a proxy parameter, such as the coefficient of thermal expansion, can be used to identify possible materials with high nonlinearities. The preparation of the surface of MgO as a substrate is thoroughly studied and a robust cleaning method is described. The study includes characterization techniques such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to ensure a contaminant-free and smooth surface. A successful growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of Sr0.56Ba0.44Nb1.99O6.4 thin film on SrTiO3 substrate is presented. The characterization of the thin film shows that it crystallizes in form of islands where at least four domains are present. As SrTiO3 can be integrated directly on Si (001), the integration of SrxBa1-xNb2O6 on Si is now possible. Future studies of SrxBa1-xNb2O6 are important for the advancement of it being used in silicon photonics.