Highly a-axis-oriented Nb-doped Pb(TixZr1−x)O3 thin films grown by sol–gel technique for uncooled infrared dectors

Abstract

Pb ( Nb 0.02 Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 ) O 3 thin films with thickness of 900nm were spincoated on platinized silicon substrate using the sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy show that the films are highly a-axis-oriented with columnar structure. A large remnant polarization (Pr+) ∼92.2μC∕cm−2 was observed for as-grown films. The coercive field (Ec+) for these films was 159.3kV∕cm. Good pyroelectric properties are obtained as a result of large remnant and spontaneous polarization and their strong temperature dependence. The pyroelectric coefficient and figure of merit at room temperature (22°C) are 10.8×10−4Cm−2K−1 and 2.34×10−5Pa−1∕2, respectively.