Microstructures and dielectric properties of PZT thick films prepared by aerosol plasma deposition with microwave annealing

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thick films have been successfully grown on Pt/Ti-coated (1 0 0) Si substrates by a novel aerosol plasma deposition (APD) method at room temperature. The dielectric constant (K) and loss tangent (tan δ) of the as-deposited film measured at 100 kHz are 223 and 0.034, respectively. The dielectric properties of the film are improved considerably by subsequent microwave annealing: K = 745 and tan δ = 0.024 are achieved for films which are microwave-annealed at 600 W for 3 min, and K = 1049, tan δ = 0.027, and remanent polarization (Pr) = 32 μC cm−2 for films annealed at 800 W for 3 min. These values are comparable to those of PZT films grown by conventional deposition methods with high substrate and/or post-annealing temperatures.