Effect of laser-ablation process parameters and post-annealing treatment on ferroelectric PZT thin films

A pulsed XeCl-excimer laser with a wavelength of 308 nm and pulse duration of 20 ns was used to ablate ferroelectric Nd-modified lead-zirconate-titana te (PNZT) ceramic targets (Pb0.97Nd0.02(Zr0.55Ti0.45)O-3) at various laser- beam fluences between 0.2 and 3.0 J/cm(2) using scanning laser-beam conditi ons. The growth rate of the PNZT thin film as a function of the number of l aser pulses (or time) was measured with a quartz-crystal resonator. Otherwi se, the average growth rate of the films on the sapphire and MgO substrates as a function of the laser-beam fluence was determined by measuring the ma ximum film thickness after deposition. The spatial distribution of the film thickness was also measured. The structure and composition of the thin fil ms were studied as a function of the laser-beam fluence and post-annealing temperature between 600 and 900 degrees C with X-ray diffraction measuremen ts together with SEM and EDS analyses. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.