PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES OF RADIOFREQUENCY MAGNETRON-SPUTTERED PB(ZR,TI)O3THIN-FILMS - DIRECT DETERMINATION OF OXYGEN COMPOSITION BY RUTHERFORDBACKSCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY AND NUCLEAR-REACTION ANALYSIS

Ferroelectric thin films of lead zirconate titanate were deposited on platinum covered Si substrates by rf magnetron sputtering from an oxid e target of nominal composition [Pb(Zr0.55, Ti0.45)O3 (PZT)] in argon. The PZT films were deposited at different pressures different powers, and different substrate temperatures ranging from floating temperatur e to 400-degrees-C. The thicknesses of the sputtered films were in the 15-720 nm range. The kinetics of the sputtering process and the effec t of sputtering parameters on film composition have been studied and r elated to the continuously monitored optical emission of the plasma. T he relative and absolute cation and oxygen compositions of the thin fi lms were determined by a new method based on the simultaneous use of R utherford backscattering spectroscopy and nuclear reaction analysis in duced by a deuteron beam. The conditions for the deposition at floatin g temperature of stoichiometric PZT thin films were established. The e ffect of postdeposition anneal on the structure and the ferroelectric properties are discussed. The remanent polarization P(r) was in the ra nge 5 muC/cm2, the coercitive field E(c), was between 15 and 25 kV/cm, and the dielectric constant epsilon(r) evaluated from capacitance mea surements, was around 1200, depending on the process parameters.