Substrate Influence on the Reversible and Irreversible Polarization Contributions in Ferroelectric Thin Films

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this contribution, the influence of different substrates and textures on the reversible and irreversible polarization in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films will be presented. One possible scenario to explain the origin of the ferroelectric hysteresis is the notion that the domain walls move through a potential generated by their interaction with randomly distributed defects of the matrix. This potential then gives rise to reversible and irreversible changes in the ferroelectric polarization. The exact features of the interaction potential also depend on the stress state of the material which can be influenced by a suitable choice of the substrate.To study the substrate influence, PZT thin films have been deposited on commercial Si wafers, MgO and SrTiO3 single crystals. Electrical characterization methods (hysteresis and small signal capacitance measurements) have been used to extract information on reversible and irreversible polarization contributions.