RF magnetron sputtering ferroelectric PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films with (001) preferred orientation on colossal magneto-resistive layers

Deposition by RF magnetron sputtering of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) ferroelectric thin films on two types of colossal magneto-resistive (CMR) oxide electrodes, La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) and La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO), is demonstrated in this work. The multiferroic heterostructure is grown on a STO substrate, which causes a 〈001〉 preferred orientation to develop. Ferroelectric, retention of polarisation and local piezoelectric properties were measured for assessing the success of the integration from the ferroelectric point of view. Remnant polarisation Pr and coercive field Ec were found to be ∼ 40 μC/cm2 and ∼ 100 kV/cm, respectively. Films presented good retention of polarisation and piezoresponse loops. These results show that ferroelectric layers with good functionality can be grown on CMR oxide films, and open the possibility of designing a piezoelectrically driven spin valve memory cell device based on this heterostructure.