The effect of RuO₂/Pt hybrid bottom electrode structure on the leakage and fatigue properties of chemical solution derived Pb(Zr_xTi_1−x)O₃ thin films

We have investigated the effect of RuO₂ (10, 30, 50 nm)/Pt layered hybrid bottom electrode structure and film composition on the leakage and fatigue properties of chemical solution derived Pb(Zr_xTi_1−x)O₃ (PZT) thin films. It was observed that the use of high Ti content (Zr: Ti = 30: 70) films with control of excess PbO at the thin RuO₂ (10 nm)/Pt bottom electrode surface reduced leakage current and showed good fatigue properties with high remanent polarization compared to the use of high Zr films (Zr: Ti = 50: 50) or thicker RuO₂ (30, 50 nm)/Pt bottom electrodes. Typical P-E hysteresis behavior of PZT films was observed even at an applied voltage of 3 V, demonstrating greatly improved remanence and coercivity. Fatigue and breakdown characteristics of these modified PZT thin films (Zr: Ti = 30: 70) on RuO₂ (10 nm)/Pt, measured at 5 V, showed stable behavior, and less than 15% fatigue degradation was observed up to 10¹⁰ cycles.