Crystalline orientation dependence of nanomechanical properties of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films

Abstract

It has been recognized that the control of crystalline orientation and thickness of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin-films is very critical in the fabrication of piezoelectric thin-film devices with desirable dielectric and electromechanical properties. Here, we present our recent studies on the fabrication of PZT films with (001), (111), and random crystalline orientations onto platinized silicon substrates and the crystalline orientation dependence of the nanomechanical properties. A 1.0-μm PZT film with a strong (100) orientation is deposited by a 2–methoxyethanol- (2–MOE)-based sol–gel precursor solution, while random orientation is obtained by acetic acid-based sol–gel precursor. Rapid thermal annealing of 2–MOE sol-gel-based PZT films leads to strong (111) orientation. All PZT films show similar hysteresis behavior and large remnant polarizations; however, the nanomechanical test using AFM and nanoindentation indicates distinct values of Young’s modulus for PZT films with different orientations.