Seeding effect on micro- and domain structure of sol-gel-derived PZT thin films

Current trend to miniaturization requires precise control of micro- and dom ain structure of ferroelectric materials at the nanoscale level. This is es sential for future applications of ferroelectric thin films in non-volatile memories, microactuators and pyroelectric arrays. In this work, the seedin g effect on the nanoscale properties of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,T)O-3 (PZT) thi n films is investigated using scanning force microscopy (SFM) capable of si multaneously resolving topographic and domain features on the surface of th e films. It is shown that the addition of 5 mol% seeds (fine PZT powder) in to the sol-gel precursor solution completely modifies the film's microstruc ture leading to the improved morphology of the grains, reduced roughness an d smaller microporosity. At the same time, significant imprint and instabil ity of the written domain pattern is reduced due to the smaller influence o f the bottom electrode interface. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.