Preparation of ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.52 Ti0.48)O3 thin films by sol-gel processing

Ferroelectric Pb(Zr_0.52 Ti_0.48)O₃ thin films were prepared by sol-gel processing on the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates. Effects of the concentration (0.2–0.8 M) of the starting solution (Pb/Zr/Ti= 1.1/0.52/0.48) and the sintering temperature (500–700 ‡C) on crystallinity, microstructure and electrical properties of PZT thin films were investigated. For the thin film prepared at 0.4 M starting solution, the highest crystallinity appeared at a sintering temperature of 650 ‡C. The average grain size of the PZT thin films was about 0.17 Μm. The film thickness was about 0.2 Μm. The relative dielectric constant and the dissipation factor of the film measured at 1 kHz were about 750 and 4.3%, respectively. The remnant polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) of the film measured at the applied voltage of 5 V were about 49 ΜC/cm² and 134 kV/cm, respectively.