Structural evolution of PZTN thin films produced by pulsed laser ablation deposition

Abstract

The study of highly oriented Nb-doped PZT thin films deposited by laser ablation on n-type (111) Si substrates is reported. Sintered ceramics based on the nominal composition Pb 0.995(Zr 0.65Ti 0.35) 0.99Nb 0.01O 3 (PZTN) with an excess of PbO were used as targets. The films were deposited using the 3rd harmonic (355 nm) of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (7 ns pulse duration) with 7 J/cm 2 fluence, at different oxygen pressures (from 10 −1 to 10 −4 mbar) and at a vacuum of 10 −6 mbar. The substrate temperature was varied in the range of 500–600 °C. In optimized conditions, the as-deposited PZT-based films show perovskite structure oriented along the (110) direction with minor impurities (PbO), as revealed from X-ray diffraction spectra. Further, microstructural analysis of the as-grown including chemical composition is also presented. The relationship between composition of the target, deposition conditions and film properties are then discussed.