Thickness Of BaTiO3 Research Articles

BaTiO3 boosted silver-based SPR sensor for efficient urine-glucose detection in pre-diabetic and early-diabetic stages

The current work studies the impact of BaTiO3 along with the various monosulfide on the sensing performance of a silver-coated surface plasmonic resonance sensor (SPR) for the noninvasive detection of glucose via urine samples. The considered monosulfides are GeS, ZnS, CdS, and CuS. After the optimization of the BaTiO3 thickness to 13 nm over the silver based SPR sensor, all above mentioned monosulfides are investigated over the BaTiO3 (BTO) layer individually. It is shown that GeS shows better performance compared to others. Maximum obtained sensitivity for the optimized structure (Prism (BK7)/ Ag (50 nm)/BaTiO3 (13 nm)/GeS (01 Layer)/Urine sample) is 527 °/RIU (the highest ever reported to date) for urine sample refractive indices range 1.335, 1.336, 1.337, 1.338, and 1.341 for corresponding glucose concentration of 0 g/dl (non-diabetic), 0.625 g/dl (pre-diabetic), 1.25 g/dl (early diabetic), 2.5 g/dl (diabetic), and 5 g/dl (high-diabetic), respectively. The investigation produced a thorough picture of the distribution of electric fields for distinct monosulfide layers. Other investigated sensing performance parameters such as detection accuracy (DA), quality factor (QF), limit of detection (LOD) are also numerically calculated and are 0.227 deg−1, 97 RIU−1 and 1.25e-5 respectively. The contrast of the suggested structure to similar relevant published work demonstrates its ability to be used as an efficient label-free biosensor.

Electroresistance of Pt/BaTiO3/LaNiO3 ferroelectric tunnel junctions and its dependence on BaTiO3 thickness

Recently, ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) have attracted considerable attention due to their great potential in next generation non-volatile memories. In this work, we report on thickness-dependent tunneling electroresistance (TER) and corresponding evolution of transport behavior in Pt/BaTiO3/LaNiO3 FTJs with various BaTiO3 thicknesses of 2.0, 3.2, and 4.8 nm. The TER effect is observed in the 3.2 nm-thick Pt/BaTiO3/LaNiO3 tunnel junction and an ON/OFF current ratio of ∼170 is achieved due to the modulation of barrier height by polarization reversal. When the BaTiO3 is increased to 4.8 nm in thickness, the ferroelectric-modulation of the barrier profile becomes more pronounced and the dominant transport mechanism changes from electron tunneling to thermally-activated thermionic injection. As a result, the OFF state current is significantly reduced due to the suppression of the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling with increased width and height of the BaTiO3 barrier. A greatly improved ON/OFF current ratio of ∼12 500 is thus achieved in the 4.8 nm-thick Pt/BaTiO3/LaNiO3 FTJ device. These results facilitate deeper understanding of the TER effects from the viewpoint of not only the barrier profile but also the transport mechanism.

Thin Film Coating with Highly Dispersible Barium Titanate-Polyvinylpyrrolidone Nanoparticles.

Thin BaTiO3 (BT) coating layers are required in various multilayer ceramic technologies, and fine nanosized BT particles with good dispersion in solution are essential for this coating process. In this work, cubic and tetragonal phase monodispersed BT nanoparticles—which were referred to as LBT and HBT-PVP coated on their surface by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer—were prepared by low temperature synthesis (LTS) and hydrothermal method (HT) at 80 and 230 °C, respectively. They were applied for the thin film coating on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and Si wafer substrates by a simple bar coating. The thickness of BT, LBT-PVP, and HBT-PVP films prepared by their 5 wt % coating agent on Si are around 268, 308, and 263 nm, and their surface roughness are 104.6, 91.6, and 56.1 nm, respectively. The optical transmittance of BT, LBT-PVP, and HBT-PVP films on PET are 55, 66, and 73% at 550 nm wavelength and the haze values are 34.89, 24.70, and 20.53% respectively. The mechanism of dispersant adsorbed on the BT surface for densification of thin film during the drying process of the film was discussed.

Giant tunnelling electroresistance in metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions by engineering the Schottky barrier

Recently, ferroelectric tunnel junctions have attracted much attention due to their potential applications in non-destructive readout non-volatile memories. Using a semiconductor electrode has been proven effective to enhance the tunnelling electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions. Here we report a systematic investigation on electroresistance of Pt/BaTiO3/Nb:SrTiO3 metal/ferroelectric/semiconductor tunnel junctions by engineering the Schottky barrier on Nb:SrTiO3 surface via varying BaTiO3 thickness and Nb doping concentration. The optimum ON/OFF ratio as great as 6.0 × 106, comparable to that of commercial Flash memories, is achieved in a device with 0.1 wt% Nb concentration and a 4-unit-cell-thick BaTiO3 barrier. With this thinnest BaTiO3 barrier, which shows a negligible resistance to the tunnelling current but is still ferroelectric, the device is reduced to a polarization-modulated metal/semiconductor Schottky junction that exhibits a more efficient control on the tunnelling resistance to produce the giant electroresistance observed. These results may facilitate the design of high performance non-volatile resistive memories.

Role of Cathode-Electrolyte-Ferroelectric Interface for High Performance Lithium Ion Battery

Next generation lithium ion battery(LIB) should be endowed with a performance of high-speed chargeability and dischargeability. LiCoO2is commercially used as a cathode material of LIB but long period of time is generally needed to charge, which is originated from diffusion-rate-limitation of lithium ions. Usually, charge-discharge reaction is impeded by the side reaction at the electrode/electrolyte interface, where the cathode is coated by a solid electrolyte interface (SEI). The formation of SEI is well recognized in LIB and it mainly blocks intercalation/deintercaration of lithium ion into/from the cathode. In 2014, Teranishi et al. reported that LiCoO2 supported with ferroelectric BaTiO3 showed a good performance at high charge-discharge rate measurement.1,2 However, at the present time, the role of BaTiO3 in the improvement of charge-discharge speed is unknown. To make this point clear, we have fabricated epitaxial thin films and dots of BaTiO3 on single crystalline LiCoO2 films, evaluated the rate property of the charge and discharge of prepared samples, and examined the role of BaTiO3. Firstly, we prepared ‘Bare-LiCoO2’ which was LiCoO2 epitaxial thin films deposited on conductive SrRuO3/(100)SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition method.Then we fabricated two types of BaTiO3/LiCoO2 epitaxial thin films. One is ‘Planer BaTiO3’, the other ‘Dot BaTiO3’. ‘Planer BaTiO3’ were coated by a sub-nm thickness of BaTiO3 on LiCoO2 surface. ‘Dot BaTiO3’ were partially coated by BaTiO3 nano-dots on LiCoO2 surface. We succeeded to obtain different shaped BaTiO3 by adjusting the P(O2) during deposition. Crystal structure of thin films were evaluated by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and cross sectional high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). We also prepared coin cell(half-cell); Li│1mol/L LiPF6 EC:DEC (3:7 v/v) │LiCoO2 and measured cathode properties by successive charge-discharge measurements. Cut off potential was set 3.3 V - 4.2 V vs. Li+/Li and charge-discharge rate was investigated in the range of 1 C to 100 C. Out of plane XRD measurement showed that LiCoO2 104 was grown along (100)cSrRuO3//(100)SrTiO3 001 without any secondary phases and other orientations. HRXRD-RSM measurement clearly showed that all the prepared films were found to be epitaxially grown on (100)SrTiO3 substrates. From HAADF-STEM-EDS images, BaTiO3 layer was also found to be epitaxially grown on LiCoO2. All epitaxial relationships of each layers are expressed as follows; [001]BaTiO3//[104]LiCoO2//[001]SrRuO3//[001]SrTiO3, [100]BaTiO3//[0-14]LiCoO2//[100]SrRuO3//[100]SrTiO3 and [010]BaTiO3//[-114]LiCoO2//[010]SrRuO3//[010]SrTiO3. We performed to measure charge-discharge cycle for ‘Bare LiCoO2’ films. The charge-discharge curve was confirmed to be almost similar to the bulk one. 2 nm-‘Planer BaTiO3’ films showed lower discharge capacity at high C rate than ‘Bare LiCoO2’ one. Then, 1 nm-‘Planer BaTiO3’ films showed better performance at high C rate than that of ‘Bare LiCoO2’ and 2 nm-‘Planer BaTiO3’ films. On the other hand, ‘Dot BaTiO3’ films showed the best performance at high C rate, discharge capacity at 100 C only reduced by 40% of that at 1 C. Only ‘Dot BaTiO3’ films were still working at 100 C even though the other type films were not working under same measurement condition. Here, we will discuss about effect of film thickness of BaTiO3. 1 nm-‘Planer BaTiO3’ films (NOT fully covered on LiCoO2) worked as cathode however 2 nm-‘Planer BaTiO3’ one (fully covered on LiCoO2) did not work. It is considered that Li+ cannot penetrate into the inside of BaTiO3 grains however it could pass through grain boundaries. From the result of ‘Dot BaTiO3’ films, we expect that an enhancement of discharge capacity at high C rate was caused by BaTiO3/LiCoO2/electrolyte three-phase interfaces. It is informed that ‘electric field concentration’ may be occurred around the three-phase interfaces, then Li+are expected preferentially to pass around the three-phase interfaces. In summary, the origin of this enhancement by BaTiO3 was attributed to the three-phase interface due to an electric field concentration. The necessity of BaTiO3 for the enhancement of the charge-discharge performance is still unclear because similar reports using non ferroelectric ZrO2 3 and Al2O3 4 showed enhancement of Li+ intercalation. However, dischargecapacity ratio of 10 C/1 C in this study is better than these previous reports. 1. T. Teranishi et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 105, 143904 (2014) 2. T. Teranishi et al., ECS Electrochem. Lett., 4 (12), A137 (2015) 3. D. Takamatsu et al., J. Electrochem. Soc., 160 (5), A3054 (2013) 4. I. D. Scott, et al., Nano Lett., 11, 414 (2011)

Characterization of the insulator barrier and the superconducting transition temperature in GdBa2Cu3O7−δ/BaTiO3 bilayers for application in tunnel junctions

The optimization of the superconducting properties in a bottom electrode and the quality of an insulator barrier are the first steps in the development of superconductor/insulator/superconductor tunnel junctions. Here, we study the quality of a BaTiO3 tunnel barrier deposited on a 16 nm thick GdBa2Cu3O7−δ thin film by using conductive atomic force microscopy. We find that the tunnel current is systematically reduced (for equal applied voltage) by increasing the BaTiO3 barrier thickness between 1.6 and 4 nm. The BaTiO3 layers present an energy barrier of ≈1.2 eV and an attenuation length of 0.35–0.5 nm (depending on the applied voltage). The GdBa2Cu3O7−δ electrode is totally covered by a BaTiO3 thickness above 3 nm. The presence of ferroelectricity was verified by piezoresponse force microscopy for a 4 nm thick BaTiO3 top layer. The superconducting transition temperature of the bilayers is systematically suppressed by increasing the BaTiO3 thickness. This fact can be associated with stress at the interface...

Two-dimensional metallic behavior at polar MgO/BaTiO3 (110) interfaces**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB632506), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11374186, 51231007, 51202132, and 51102153), and the Independent Innovation Foundation of Shandong University, China (Grant No. 2012TS027).

The first-principles calculations are employed to investigate the electrical properties of polar MgO/BaTiO3 (110) interfaces. Both n-type and p-type polar interfaces show a two-dimensional metallic behavior. For the n-type polar interface, the interface Ti 3d electrons are the origin of the metallic and magnetic properties. Varying the thickness of BaTiO3 may induce an insulator–metal transition, and the critical thickness is 4 unit cells. For the p-type polar interface, holes preferentially occupy the interface O 2py state, resulting in a conducting interface. The unbalance of the spin splitting of the O 2p states in the interface MgO layer leads to a magnetic moment of about 0.25μ B per O atom at the interface. These results further demonstrate that other polar interfaces, besides LaAlO3/SrTiO3, can show a two-dimensional metallic behavior. It is helpful to fully understand the role of polar discontinuity on the properties of the interface, which widens the field of polar-nonpolar interfaces.

Microstructure of the potentially multiferroic Fe/BaTiO3 epitaxial interface

The Fe/BaTiO3 thin-film layered structure is a prototype of charge-mediated composite multiferroics, which is a promising but challenging route to achieve a sizable magnetoelectric effect. The real structure of the interface between the ferromagnetic Fe and ferroelectric BaTiO3 layers is crucial. In this paper, epitaxial Fe layers were successfully grown on top of BaTiO3 layers by carefully controlling the pulsed laser deposition and magnetron sputtering procedures. A detailed study of interfacial structure and defects at the Fe/BaTiO3 interface was carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electron diffraction patterns and diffraction contrast images reveal a definite epitaxial relationship between Fe and BaTiO3 (001) films and a semi-coherent interface with nearly periodic interfacial dislocations. Based on high-resolution TEM images from both [010] and [110] direction observations, the interfacial dislocations were found to be partial with Burgers vectors and line directions of ⟨010⟩. By employing high-resolution Z-contrast imaging, the positions of individual atoms columns were resolved. The formation mechanism of interfacial dislocations was proposed in terms of geometrical models of the interface structure. On the basis of the remaining strain analysis in each layer, the effects of both BaTiO3 thickness and the SrTiO3 substrates on the density of the interface defects were discussed.

Electrochemical deposition of barium titanate thin films on TiN/Si substrates

Barium titanate (BaTiO3) films were synthesized on TiN-coated Si substrates by electrochemically anodic oxidation in mixed alkaline electrolytes of 0.5M Ba(CH3COO)2 and 2M NaOH. A potentiostatic mode was conducted to make the films with the voltages ranging from 2 to 60V at 70°C for only 1min. X-ray diffraction results show that cubic BaTiO3 films were successfully prepared on TiN-coated substrates at the reaction voltages above 2V. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the obtained BaTiO3 films possessed uniformly distributed spherical-particulate surface morphology with a nanolayered feature. The thickness of BaTiO3 could reach about 4μm after electrochemical oxidation with the voltage of 60V. The growth rate of BaTiO3 films synthesized by the electrochemical oxidation was much faster than that of the films prepared by the previously reported hydrothermal and hydrothermal–galvanic couple methods where only a single layer was produced. Potentiodynamic polarization reveals that the corrosion resistance of TiN-coated substrates was greatly improved by electrochemical deposition of the dense and thick BaTiO3 films over the substrates.

Dielectric and ferroelectric response of compositionally graded bilayer and trilayer composites of BaTiO3 and 0.975BaTiO3–0.025Ba(Cu1/3Nb2/3)O3

In this paper, we report the dielectric and ferroelectric response of compositionally graded bilayer and trilayer composites consisting of BaTiO3 (BT) and 0.975BaTiO3–0.025Ba(Cu1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BTBCN). Two types of graded bilayer samples were synthesized, one with same thickness of BT and BTBCN while other with different layer thicknesses. The graded trilayer sample consisted of BT layer sandwiched between two BTBCN layers of equal thickness. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images showed a sharp interface with needle-shape domains across the interface. The domain size on BT side was found to be larger than that on BTBCN side. The temperature dependence of dielectric response for all composite systems was found to exhibit shifting in characteristic Curie peak compared to constituent material which was associated to coupling between layers. Moreover, the differences in grain size, tetragonality, domain mobility of each layer was found to perturb the electrical response of composite. The polarization mismatch between uncoupled BT and BTBCN established internal electric field in composite specimen and defined new polarization states in each layer by perturbing free energy functional of the composite specimen. Dynamic hysteresis behaviors and power-law scaling relations of all specimens were determined from polarization-electric field hysteresis loop measurements as a function of frequency. All systems were found to exhibit similar dynamic scaling relationships. Hysteresis area ⟨A⟩, Pr, and EC decreased with increasing frequency due to delayed response but increased with increasing applied electric field due to enhancement of driving force. Trilayer system was found to exhibit strong internal-bias field and double hysteresis behavior. The coupling effect resulting due to polarization mismatch between layers had substantial influence on the dynamic hysteresis behavior and power-law scaling relations.

Constrained ferroelectricity in BaTiO3∕BaZrO3 superlattices

Ba Ti O 3 ∕ Ba Zr O 3 superlattices with varying periodicities were grown on SrRuO3 buffered MgO (001) substrates by pulsed laser ablation. Ferroelectric measurements were done and correlated to the strain in the heterostructures. The results of ferroelectric measurements indicate an apparent suppression of polarization in the low period superlattices and the onset of weakly ferroelectric behavior in higher period superlattices. Measured switchable polarization values indicate that contribution is primarily from the BaTiO3 in the structure. These results have been correlated to the interfacial strain and the critical thickness of BaTiO3 when grown over tensile substrates such as MgO.

Effect of strain on the ferroelectric properties in epitaxial perovskite titanate thin films grown on ferromagnetic CoFe 2O 4 layers

A BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 heterostructure was fabricated by laser molecular beam epitaxy. The effects of strain on the microstructures, domain morphologies and ferroelectric properties of BaTiO3 thin films were studied systematically. Ferroelectric properties in a 40-nm-thick BaTiO3 film were suppressed owing to a reduced tetragonality induced by the strain between BaTiO3 and the underlying CoFe2O4. For a 100-nm-thick film, BaTiO3 exhibits improved the ferroelectric properties with an out-of-plane polarization (2Pr) of 36.4 μC cm−2 and an electric coercivity field of 104 kV cm−1. The results show that the thickness of BaTiO3 can significantly affect the interfacial strain and hence the ferroelectric properties of the BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 heterostructure.

Critical thickness control by deposition rate for epitaxial BaTiO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3(001)

Ba Ti O 3 ∕ Sr Ti O 3 ( 001 ) epitaxial thin films were prepared at various growth rates by pulsed laser deposition, and their heterostructures were evaluated by synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements and cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy observations. In a film grown at a low deposition rate (0.01nm∕s), misfit dislocations are found near the interface and a fully relaxed BaTiO3 thin film grows epitaxially on the substrate. On the other hand, a film grown at a high deposition rate (0.04nm∕s) consists of strained and relaxed BaTiO3 lattices. Our results showed that the critical thickness of BaTiO3∕SrTiO3(001) epitaxial thin films can be controlled by the deposition rate and that the critical thickness increases with increasing deposition rate, and by adjusting the deposition rate, we were able to prepare epitaxial thin films consisting of fully strained BaTiO3, partially strained BaTiO3, or fully relaxed BaTiO3.

Magnetocapacitance effect in perovskite-superlattice based multiferroics

We report the structural and magnetoelectrical properties of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3∕BaTiO3 perovskite superlattices grown on (001)-oriented SrTiO3 by the pulsed laser deposition technique. Magnetic hysteresis loops, together with temperature dependent magnetic properties, exhibit well-defined coercivity and magnetic transition temperature (TC) ∼140K. dc electrical studies of films show that the magnetoresistance (MR) is dependent on the BaTiO3 thickness, and negative MR as high as 30% at 100K are observed. The ac electrical studies reveal that the impedance and capacitance in these films vary with the applied magnetic field due to the magnetoelectrical coupling in these structures—a key feature of multiferroics. A negative magnetocapacitance value in the film as high as 3%pertesla at 1kHz and 100K is demonstrated, opening the route for designing novel functional materials.

Strong polarization enhancement in asymmetric three-component ferroelectric superlattices

Theoretical predictions--motivated by recent advances in epitaxial engineering--indicate a wealth of complex behaviour arising in superlattices of perovskite-type metal oxides. These include the enhancement of polarization by strain and the possibility of asymmetric properties in three-component superlattices. Here we fabricate superlattices consisting of barium titanate (BaTiO3), strontium titanate (SrTiO3) and calcium titanate (CaTiO3) with atomic-scale control by high-pressure pulsed laser deposition on conducting, atomically flat strontium ruthenate (SrRuO3) layers. The strain in BaTiO3 layers is fully maintained as long as the BaTiO3 thickness does not exceed the combined thicknesses of the CaTiO3 and SrTiO3 layers. By preserving full strain and combining heterointerfacial couplings, we find an overall 50% enhancement of the superlattice global polarization with respect to similarly grown pure BaTiO3, despite the fact that half the layers in the superlattice are nominally non-ferroelectric. We further show that even superlattices containing only single-unit-cell layers of BaTiO3 in a paraelectric matrix remain ferroelectric. Our data reveal that the specific interface structure and local asymmetries play an unexpected role in the polarization enhancement.

Ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin-film optical waveguide modulators

High-quality BaTiO3 epitaxial thin films on MgO substrates have been grown by pulsed-laser deposition. Both, c-axis and a-axis BaTiO3 orientations were studied. Mach–Zehnder optical waveguide modulators with a fork angle of 1.7° have been fabricated by ion-beam etching. The waveguides are of the ridge type, the BaTiO3 thickness is 1 μm, the ridge step 50 nm, and the width 2 μm. Light was coupled into the waveguides from optical fibers. The BaTiO3 waveguide propagation losses are 2–3 dB/cm. Electrodes of 3 mm length were deposited besides the waveguides. Electro-optic modulation has been demonstrated with Vπ=6.3 V at 632 nm wavelength and Vπ=9.5 V at 1550 nm wavelength for the a-axis samples, and with Vπ=8 V at 632 nm wavelength and Vπ=15 V at 1550 nm for the c-axis samples. Theoretical modelling of the Mach–Zehnder modulators for both crystalline orientations of the BaTiO3 films gave the Pockels coefficients r51=80 pm/V for the c-axis film and an effective Pockels coefficient reff=734 pm/V for the a-axis films at 632 nm wavelength.

Electrorheological particles composed of polyaniline core and BaTiO3 layer shell

Composite particles consisting of polyaniline (PAn) core and barium titanate (BaTiO3) layer shell were synthesized. The PAn-BaTiO3 composites particles were characterized with TEM and XRD. The dielectric behavior of particles was tested and the electrorheological (ER) behavior of the suspensions of PAn/BaTiO3 particles in chlorinated paraffin oil with a 20 vol% was investigated under DC electric field. The results show that the ER effect of composite particle is far stronger than that of pure polyaniline and barium titanate which were synthesized by the same method. pH and thickness of BaTiO3 have an important influence on the ER effects.

Epitaxial Growth of (Ba, Sr)TiO3 Thin Films and Their Ferroelectric Properties.

Heteroepitaxial growth of BaxSr1-xTiO3 thin films and their ferroelectric properties were reviewed. Lattice misfit strain could be introduced in the heteroepitaxial films, when they were grown with rf magnetron sputtering. It was confirmed from hysteresis measurements that the Curie temperature of the heteroepitaxial films could be artificially raised to higher than 200°C. A ferroelectric hysteresis loop could be observed even when the thickness of BaTiO3 was reduced to 12nm, which contained about 30 unit cells of the crystal in parallel to the polarization axis. Based on the results of a series of studies, it is expected that heteroepitaxial BaxSr1-xTiO3 films can be used in ferroelectric nonvolatile memories with a large-scale integration. The BaxSr1-xTiO3 films will provide chemically stable memory cells with good reproducibility and compatibility with the Si process, because they are free from volatile elements such as Pb or Bi. Further investigation and development will be required to improve the ferroelectric properties of the heteroepitaxial capacitors, especially on Si substrates.

Dielectric properties of sol-gel derived Pb(Zr0.70Ti0.30)O3/PbTiO3 and Pb(Zr0.70Ti0.30)O3/BaTiO3 multilayer thin films

Pb(Zr0.70Ti0.30)O3 (PZT)/PbTiO3 (PT) and Pb(Zr0.70Ti0.30)O3(PZT)/BaTiO3 (BT) multilayer films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using metallorganic sol-gel processing. The effect of the thickness of BT or PT layers on microstructure and dielectric and ferroelectric properties are studied. An appreciable increase in the breakdown field strength (EB), decrease in coercive field (EC) and leakage current (IL), and great improvements in the fatigue behavior with increasing number of BT or PT layers, are observed. The improvements of dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT/BT and PZT/PT multilayer films indicated the important role of BT or PT interlayer for PZT capacitors. Furthermore the relationship between microstructure and dielectric properties is also discussed.