Self-organized one-axis-oriented PZT films with nano-domain structure

{100} One-axis-oriented PZT films with a thickness of 2 μm were obtained on (111)Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/(100)Si substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). These were obtained irrespective of the film thickness up to 2 mm and with a Zr/(Zr + Ti) ratio from 0.20 to 0.75. This was found to be due to the higher growth rate of these orientation grains than {110} and {111)} orientation grains. These films had columnar grains 50–100 nm in width. Moreover, they were found to include 908 nano-domains 10–20 nm in width. Dielectric constant, ε_r and the field induced-strain were maximum around a Zr/(Zr + Ti) ratio of 0.5, which was in good agreement with previous reports on sintered bodies with 100 times larger domains. This means that the domain size had any effect on ε_r or field-induced strain.