Structure and electrical properties of lead calcium titanate nanocrystalline thin films prepared by a sol-gel process with rapid thermal annealing

Nanocystalline (Pb0.76Ca0.24)TiO3 (PCT) thin films were a own on Pt/Ti/SiO2 /Si(100) substrates by a modified sol-gel process. Randomly oriented tetrag onal PCT thin films have been obtained. Atomic force microscopy reveals tha t the films are dense, have a smooth surface, and the grain size is about 4 0 nm for polycrystalline PCT film on a Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrate anneale d at 650 degreesC by rapid thermal annealing, The electrical measurements w ere conducted on PCT films in metal-ferroelectric-metal (MFM) capacitor con figuration. The results show that the film exhibited good ferroelectrity wi th remanent polarization and coercive electric field of 36 muC/cm(2) and 24 0 kV/cm, respectively. At 100 kHz, the dielectric constant and dielectric l oss of the film are 295 and 0.027, respectively, for thin films of 200 nm t hickness.