Pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial PbZrxTi1-xO3 ferroelectric capacitorswith LaNiO3 and SrRuO3 electrodes

It is commonly accepted that, in order to solve the fatigue problem in PbZ( x)Ti(1-x)O(3) (PZT) ferroelectric capacitors, oxide electrodes have to be u sed. However, clear criteria for the choice of an electrode material have n ot given yet. Here we report on the deposition and ferroelectric properties of epitaxial pulsed laser deposited PZT capacitors with SrRuO3 and LaNiO3 perovskite bottom electrodes, and aluminium top electrodes. Remarkable impr ovement of the ferroelectric properties, i.e. remanent polarization increas ing from 7.5 to 37 muC/cm(2), is observed when the bottom electrode materia l is changed from SrRuO3 to LaNiO3. This improvement is attributed to a smo other ferroelectric/electrode interface and the formation of the tetragonal phase of PZT instead of the rhombohedral one. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved.