X-axis-oriented tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) piezoelectric thin films were deposited on sapphire (Al2O3) substrates, from which single crystallization due to epitaxial growth can be expected, using an RF magnetron sputtering system. The crystallinity and Rayleigh-type surface acoustic wave (R-SAW) propagation properties of the thin films were evaluated. From the measured diffraction (X-ray diffraction) patterns and the spotted pattern in the measured pole figures, in which poles were arranged to form the vertices of a hexagon, the possibility of the crystallization of hexagonal Ta2O5 with a (203)-plane oriented in the c-Al2O3 substrate plane due to epitaxial growth was shown. For the first mode of the R-SAW on the Ta2O5/R-plane Al2O3 sample, a coupling factor of 1.65% and a phase velocity of 5,120 m/s were obtained for a normalized thickness of 0.175. Unfortunately, no increase in coupling factor and no major improvement in propagation loss were observed upon the crystallization of hexagonal Ta2O5.
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