Microstructure and ferroelectric properties of r.f. magnetron sputtering derived PZT thin films deposited on interlayer (PbO/TiO2)

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and interlayer/Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate by radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering with a Pb1.1Zr0.53Ti0.47O3 target. The crystallization of the PZT thin films was formed only by substrate temperature. When interlayer (PbO/TiO2) was inserted between the PZT thin film and the Pt electrode, the grain growth and processing temperature of the PZT thin films were considerably improved. Compared to PZT/Pt structure, the dielectric constant and polarization properties of the PZT/interlayer/Pt structure were fairly improved. In particular, PZT/interlayer/Pt at the substrate temperature of 400 °C showed prevalent ferroelectric properties (ɛr=475.97, tanδ=0.0591, Pr=23 μC/cm2). As a result of an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth-profile analysis, it was found that PZT/interlayer/Pt deposited only by substrate temperature without the post-annealing process via r.f. magnetron sputtering method remained independent of each other regardless of substrate temperatures.