Improvement of ferroelectric hysteresis curves in epitaxial BaTiO3 film capacitors by 2-step deposition

A 2-step deposition technique was introduced in the heteroepitaxial growth of barium titanate (BaTiO3) thin films. Heteroepitaxial BaTiO3 films were p repared on a SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrate by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sput tering with three kinds of deposition method: low RF-power deposition, 2-st ep deposition, and high power deposition. The crystallographic and ferroele ctric properties were evaluated for the heteroepitaxial films. When the epi taxial capacitor was prepared by the 2-step deposition technique, the ferro electric remanent polarization, 2Pr, was maximized. The optimized depositio n condition to improve the crystal quality is discussed in terms of damage and diffusion, which could be introduced into the oxide films during the ep itaxial growth, and controlled by the RF-power and deposition time, respect ively.