Epitaxial growth and electrical measurement of single crystalline Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin film on Si(001) for micro-electromechanical systems

We report in this work the epitaxial growth and the electrical characteristics of single crystalline Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ (PZT) thin film on SrTiO₃(STO)-buffered Si(001) substrate. The STO buffer layer deposited by molecular beam epitaxy allows a coherent oxide/Si interface leading enhanced PZT crystalline quality. 70 nm-thick PZT (52:48) layer was then grown on STO/Si(001) by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction demonstrates the single crystalline PZT film on Si substrate in the following epitaxial relationship: [110] PZT (001)//[110] STO (001)//[100] Si (001). The macroscopic electrical measurements show a hysteresis loop with memory window of 2.5 V at ± 7 V sweeping range and current density less than 1 μA/cm² at 750 kV/cm. The artificial domains created by piezoresponse force microscopy with high contrast and non-volatile properties provide further evidence for the excellent piezoelectric properties of the single crystalline PZT thin film.