Epitaxial PMN-PT thin films grown on buffered Si substrates using ceramic and single-crystal targets

Epitaxial 0.65Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.35PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT) thin films were deposited on LSCO/CeO₂/YSZ tri-buffered Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using sintered ceramic and single-crystal targets. The PMN-PT films deposited using both targets were single crystalline and exhibited cube-on-cube growth epitaxy with the substrate. The films deposited using the single-crystal target showed higher crystallinity and a smoother surface morphology than those grown using the ceramic target. The crystallinity of films can be affected by the in-plane lattice mismatch of PMN-PT/LSCO interfaces. The low density and low absorption coefficient of the sintered ceramic target were responsible for the severe compositional deviation from the desired stoichiometry of the PMN-PT films. Dielectric constants of approximately 1926 and 1540 at 10 kHz were obtained for the films deposited using the single-crystal and sintered ceramic target, respectively. In addition, the PMN-PT films fabricated using the single-crystal target exhibited well-developed polarization hysteresis loops with a remnant polarization of 11.9 μC/cm². Single-crystal targets are an indispensable candidate for the growth of epitaxial PMN-PT films with high crystallinity and good electrical properties.