Effect of Ni doping on the electro-optic property in K(Ta0.6Nb0.4)O3 films

Abstract The rising of thin-film-based plasmonic electro-optic (EO) devices triggers considerable exploitation of ferroelectric oxide thin films with large EO response. In this study, epitaxial (001)-orientated Ni-doped K(Ta 0.6 Nb 0.4 )O 3 (KTN) films were fabricated on SrRuO 3 /SrTiO 3 substrates via pulsed laser deposition. In comparison with a pure KTN film, a larger withstand electric field was achieved by Ni doping. The EO measurements revealed that the doping of Ni ions induced a decrease in the effective EO coefficient. Instead, the variation of refractive index by the applicable maximum electric field was increased due to the increment of withstand electric field, particularly for the case of 2% Ni dopant.