Comparative studies of relaxor-ferroelectric Pb0.92La0.08(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition and sol-gel spin coating

Abstract

In this study, the energy storage properties of relaxor Pb0.92La0.08(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PLZT) thin films grown on Pt/Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and sol-gel methods were investigated. The PLZT thin films deposited by PLD possessed a columnar growth microstructure and mixed orientations of (100) and (110) while a dense microstructure and preferred orientation of (100) were achieved by sol-gel deposition. Although the electric breakdown strength (EBD) of the sol-gel-deposited PLZT thin films (EBD=2200 kV/cm) was slightly higher than that of the films deposited using PLD (EBD=2100 kV/cm), the PLD-deposited PLZT thin films had a larger recoverable energy storage density (Ureco) and energy storage efficiency (η), which can be explained by its slimmer polarization loop, higher maximum polarization, and lower remanent polarization. At corresponding EBD values, the Ureco and η values were 33.2 J/cm3 and 67.5% for the PLD-deposited films and 27.5 J/cm3 and 62.2% for the sol-gel-deposited films. Although the sol-gel-deposited PLZT thin films had lower energy storage performance, the sol-gel method remains a promising method for the fabrication of thin films for dielectric energy storage applications due to its unique advantages of low fabrication cost, simple preparation process, and easy control of chemical composition.