Perovskite nanostructured films with functional properties for energy harvesting applications

Inorganic perovskites are key materials for many technologies going from high Tc superconductors, to high-k dielectrics, from piezoelectric to colossal magnetoresistance materials, from ionic conductors to multiferroics. Perovskites are compounds with ABX3 formula where the anion X form together with A a cubic compact packing, thus A is twelve coordinated, while B, occupying the octahedral holes, has a six-coordination. The countless potentialities of perovskites arise from the possibility to dope both the A and B sites giving rise to a great variety of compositions and properties. In this presentation, a simple synthetic strategy based on metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for the fabrication of inorganic perovskite thin films will be presented. Depositions have been realized in a customized hot wall reactor, employing argon as a carrier gas and oxygen as a reactant gas. Multicomponent mixtures consisting of appropriate β-diketonates have been used as precursor sources. Films have been grown on conventional and conducting substrates of 10 x 10 mm2 surface. Some case studies will be reported with particular attention to the ferromagnetic Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 and the piezoelectric/ferroelectric BiFeO3.