Characteristics of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films epitaxially grown on CeO2(111)/Si(111) substrates

Abstract

The sol–gel derived epitaxial growth of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) films on epitaxial CeO2(111)/Si(111) substrates has been demonstrated. We found that the growth of the PZT(111) film on the substrate is dominated by the cube-on-cube type relationship, where the areal mismatch between the PZT(111) and CeO2(111) plane was as small as 0.72%. The CeO2(111) layer was effective in suppressing the interdiffusion between the PZT film and Si. Typical memory window of the Al/PZT(111)/CeO2(111)/Si(111) structure was 1.54 V, which was determined by the polarization reversal of the PZT(111) layer. The leakage current density and the resistivity measured at 5 V were 2.08×10−7 A/cm2 and 1.41×1012 Ω cm, respectively. Therefore, the epitaxial PZT(111)/CeO2(111)/Si(111) structure suggests a great potential for application to a metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) memory device.