IN-SITU DIAGNOSTICS OF PULSED-LASER DEPOSITION OF FERROELECTRIC PB(TI0.48ZR0.52)O3 ON SI

The transport of material from target to substrate has been monitored in the pulsed laser deposition of Pb(Ti0.48Zr0.52)O3 films on p-doped Si(100) using two in situ diagnostics, namely plume fluorescence spectroscopy and plume ion mass spectrometry. The as-grown PZT films are specular, with thicknesses which decrease from 350 to 250 nm on a radius 5 mm from the center and show a dielectric hysteresis with typical remanent polarizations and coercive fields of 0.2 muC/cm2 and 124 kV/cm, respectively. The analysis of the plume fluorescence emission and ionic yield indicates that oxidation of the ablated material occurs during transport from target to substrate and that, in order to grow ferroelectric thin films, the substrate should be located in the region of the plume where the relative concentrations of metal oxides and clusters increase.