{100}-textured piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films: Influence of Pb content in the PbxTiO3 seed layer on the electrical properties of chemical solution deposited Pb(Zr,Ti)O3

Abstract

In this work, the influence of Pb content (x = 1.0, 1.05, 1.1, and 1.2) in a 0.02M PbxTiO3 (PxT) seed layer on {100}-texture percentage and electrical properties of Pb1.1(Zr0.52,Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) films was investigated. The 0.02M concentration of the PxT seed layer chosen for the present work was based on our previous work on the optimization of solution concentration (0.02, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2M) of the PxT seed layer on the texture percentage of 190 nm PZT thin films. The chemical solution deposition method was used to deposit 1.3 μm thick PZT films on Pt (111)/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates. X-ray diffraction studies demonstrated the dependence of {100}-texture percentage (TP) and grain size of PZT films on Pb content in the PxT seed layer. TP was observed to affect the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of these films. PZT films grown on the P1.05T seed layer showed a maximum value for both TP (97%) and peak height. Piezoelectric measurements were performed using cantilevers prepared with Pt top and bottom electrodes. PZT films grown on the P1.05T seed layer showed a maximum transverse piezoelectric coefficient of −13.3 C/m2. Current studies, coupled with our previous work, suggest that the use of a seed layer PxT and the optimization of Pb content in the seed layer are promising routes to achieve {100}-textured PZT films with higher piezoelectric parameters.