Compositional tailoring of the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of sol-gel derived PLZT thin films

Abstract

Abstract PZT films, especially PZT 53/47 films, have been intensively explored for a wide range of applications. A broad range of dopants can be incorporated fairly easily into PZT using sol-gel techniques, resulting in compositional tailoring of material properties. One important dopant is La, forming PLZT compositions which have a larger range of dielectric and ferroelectric properties than the PZT materials. To date, PLZT films have received less attention in electrical applications than PZT films in spite of the wider range of film properties achieveable with the former. A series of sol-gel derived PLZT films was prepared on platinized Si wafers. Selected compositions were prepared covering the entire PLZT phase diagram, namely PLZT x/y/z with y/z = 20/80, 53/47 and 65/35 and x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12; and × = 7.5 with y/z = 0/100, 20/80, 65/35, 53/47, 35/65, 80/20 and 0/100. The films were spincoated on platinized Si wafers and fired to 650 – 700 C to convert them into single phase perovskite film...