Plasma Profiling of LiNbO₃ Film for the Formation of Piezoelectric Energy Converters

The presented work shows the formation and profiling of nanocrystalline LiNbO₃ films obtained by pulsed laser deposition, as well as the influence of the laser pulse repetition rate on the electrical properties, morphology, and growth processes of granular films. The study revealed that the nucleation process in LiNbO₃ films can be intentionally altered by increasing the laser pulse repetition rate. When the repetition rate was set to 4 Hz, the resulting film comprised local islands and clusters with a diameter of 118.1 ± 5.9 nm. On the other hand, nanocrystalline films grown at a repetition rate of 10 Hz exhibited a continuous granular structure with a grain diameter of 235 ± 11.75 nm. These findings have the potential to contribute to the advancement of environmentally friendly energy devices utilizing lead-free piezoelectric energy harvesters.