Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of pulsed laser deposited lead zirconate titanate (65/35) thin film

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films with composition (65/35) were deposited using pulsed laser deposition. A KrF laser with a wavelength of 248 nm, an energy fluence of ∼ 1.2 J/cm2 with a repetition rate of 5 Hz, and a background pressure of 6 to 13 Pa oxygen was used to deposit the films. A PZT target of 25 mm diameter and 5 mm thickness was prepared by solid-state double sintering ceramic route for laser ablation. The films were deposited at 300 °C (substrate temperature) and thereafter annealed ex-situ at 450 °C for 5 h intermediately and finally at 650 °C for 2 h resulting in single phase polycrystalline PZT with a grain size of ∼ 0.5 μm. A metal/ferroelectric/metal structure was formed by depositing gold electrodes on the film. The Atomic Force Microscope images revealed well-crystallized films with a fine microstructure and an average grain size of ∼ 0.5 μm. The dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the films deposited on Platinum (Pt) coated silicon substrates were studied and the results are discussed. The Polarization vs. Electric field hysteresis measurements showed a well-defined hysteresis loop with a fairly high Pr of 25 μC/cm2 with a coercive field of 38 kV/cm.