Growth and characterization of (Pb, La)TiO3 films with and without a special buffer layer prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

The (Pb, La)TiO3 (PLT) ferroelectric thin films with and without a special buffer layer of PbOx have been deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature. The microstructure and the surface morphology of the films annealed at 600 °C for 1 h have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The surface roughness of the PLT thin film with a special buffer layer was 4.45 nm (5 μm × 5 μm) in comparison to that of 31.6 nm (5 μm × 5 μm) of the PLT thin film without a special buffer layer. Ferroelectric properties such as polarization hysteresis loop (P–V loop) and capacitance–voltage curve (C–V curve) of the films were investigated. The remanent polarization (Pr) and the coercive field (Ec) are 21 μC/cm2 and 130 kV/cm respectively, and the pyroelectric coefficient is 2.75 × 10− 8 C/cm2 K for the PLT film with a special buffer layer. The results indicate that the (Pb, La)TiO3 ferroelectric thin films with excellent ferroelectric properties can be deposited by RF magnetron sputtering with a special buffer layer.