Effect of microstructure on reactive ion etching of sol–gel-derived PZT thin film

Abstract

Micro patterning and etching characteristics of Pb(Zr 0.52Ti 0.48)O 3 (PZT) thin film are very interesting for the fabrication of various ferroelectric micro devices. Besides the effects of plasma, the microstructure of PZT films was very important in etching process. In this article, the characteristics of reactive ion etching (RIE) of PZT films with different microstructure were investigated. The morphology and microstructure were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The properties of etching were measured by AFM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). With the annealing temperature increased, the microstructure became more compact and the etching rate decreased. The highest etching rate was 13 nm/min when the microstructure of PZT film was amorphous.