Preparation and characterization of antiferroelectric PLZT2/95/5 thin films via a sol–gel process

Abstract Antiferroelectric (AFE) Pb 0.98 La 0.02 (Zr 0.95 Ti 0.05 )O 3 (PLZT2/95/5) thin films with thickness of 0.7 μm were successfully deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si substrate via a modified sol–gel process. The lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), SEM, dielectric and ferroelectric (FE) measurements. Single phase of perovskite PLZT was obtained for the samples annealed at temperature from 550 to 700 °C. Double P – E hysteresis loops indicating a phase transformation from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase were observed for the PLZT thin films at room temperature. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the PLZT film annealed at 700 °C are 510 and 0.016, respectively. A saturated polarization as high as 36 μC/cm 2 was observed for the same PLZT thin film. The forward switching field ( E AFE–FE ) and backward switching field ( E FE–AFE ) of the 700 °C annealed PLZT thin film at room temperature are estimated to be 96 and 31 kV/cm from P – E hysteresis loop, and 91 and 38 kV/cm from dielectric constant dc bias field characteristic, respectively. The variations of the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the PLZT thin films as a function of annealing temperature were explained in terms of grain size variation.