Sol-gel preparation of Pb(Zr0.50Ti0.50)O-3 ferroelectric thin films using zirconium oxynitrate as the zirconium source

Lead zirconium titanate (Pb(Zr0.5Ti0.5)O-3, PZT) ferroelectric thin films w ere successfully deposited on platinum-coated silicon substrates and platin um-coated silicon substrates with a PbTiO3 interlayer by using a modified s ol-gel spin-coating process, using zirconium oxynitrate dihydrate as the zi rconium source. The precursor solution for spin coating was prepared from l ead acetate trihydrate, zirconium oxynitrate dihydrate, and tetrabutyl tita nate. The use of zirconium oxynitrate instead of the widely used zirconium alkoxide provided more stability to the PZT precursor solution and a well-c rystallized structure of PZT film at a relatively low processing temperatur e. PZT films that were annealed at a temperature of 700 degrees C for 2 min via a rapid thermal annealing process formed a well-crystallized perovskit e phase of PZT films and also had nanoscale uniformity. The microstructure and morphology of the prepared PZT thin films were investigated via X-ray d iffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscop y techniques. The values for the remnant polarization (P) and coercive elec tric field (E) of the PZT films that were obtained from the P-E loop measur ements were 3.67 mu C/cm(2) and 54.5 kV/cm, respectively.