Lithium niobate has a wide variety of applications because of its excellent ferroelectric, piezoelectric and electrooptic properties. In this study, epitaxial lithium niobate thin films were deposited on c-sapphire (α-Al2O3) by the low-cost, open-atmosphere Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) technique developed by MicroCoating Technologies, Inc. It was found that deposition temperature plays a critical role in determining the growth behavior and quality of the lithium niobate thin films. XRD measurements show that the lithium niobate films are epitaxial with two in-plane orientations (twin structure). A surface roughness (root mean square) of about 4 nm was obtained from the deposited film (about 200 nm thick), as measured by optical profilometry.

The enormous technological potential of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) was realized immediately following their discovery in 1986, yet these materials largely remain laboratory curiosities as scientists struggle to scale from coupons to long lengths of practical coated conductor. Although both vacuum and non-vacuum processes are being investigated for commercial production, low-throughput vacuum techniques were the first to succeed in producing the buffer and superconducting layers necessary for superconducting tape with high critical currents. However, vacuum processes are not only expensive but impractical when addressing the needs for rapid production of kilometer lengths of wire. The innovative Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) method used with the Rolling Assisted Biaxially Textured Substrates (RABiTS™) technology has shown significant promise in fabricating the multi-layer structures necessary for successful HTS tape while overcoming many of the shortcomings of traditional vacuum techniques. The key advantage of the CCVD technology is its ability to deposit high quality thin films in the open atmosphere using inexpensive precursor chemicals in solution. As a result, continuous, production-line manufacturing is possible with significantly reduced capital requirements and operating costs when compared to competing vacuum-based technologies. The current status of development for production of long lengths of high-temperature superconductors using CCVD will be discussed.