Effects of thickness on the electrical properties of metalorganic chemicalvapor deposited Pb(Zr, Ti)O-3 (25-100 nm) thin films on LaNiO3 buffered Si

Pb(Zr, Ti)O-3 (PZT) thin films with (100) preferred orientation were prepar ed using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on LaNiO3 (LNO) buffered pl atinized Si with thickness varying from 25-100 nm. The dependence of electr ical properties of PZT films on thickness was studied using several techniq ues, including polarization-electric field (P-E), temperature variable curr ent-voltage (I-V), and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. Because of t he formation of Schottky barriers at ferroelectric/electrode interfaces, bu ilt-in electric fields are present. A progressive increment in carrier conc entration and interfacial built-in electric field versus reducing PZT film thickness was observed, which is believed to be a dominant factor controlli ng the measured dielectric/ferroelectric properties. The higher built-in el ectric field in thinner PZT films would pin the dipoles at the interfacial region and retard the response of dipoles to the external electric field. ( C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.