Photoluminescence of Nanocrystalline Bismuth Titanate Thin Films Synthesized by the Sol-Gel Method

The present study is devoted to synthesis and investigation of photoluminescence in the nanosized Bi4Ti3O12 (BTO) thin films. The randomly oriented BTO thin films have been obtained by a modified hybrid sol-gel process. Bismuth nitrate and titanium (IV) butoxide were used as the starting materials. The thin films were deposited on silicon, glass and stainless steel by spin coating and crystallized by the conventional thermal annealing at temperature T=650C. Formation of the layer perovskite-type structure of the orthorhombic symmetry was confirmed by X-ray diffraction method. Conservation of the chemical composition was investigated by energy dispersive spectroscopy. The UV luminescence has been observed in BTO thin films at room temperature. Results on luminescence excitation and emission in bismuth titanate thin films are given in the present paper.