ELECTRICAL AND CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC PROPERTIES OF SPUTTERED-PB(ZR, TI)O3 FILMS TREATED BY RAPID THERMAL ANNEALING

Pyrochlore-phase lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) films were prepared by rf-magnetron sputtering using a multi-element metal target at 400-degrees-C. These films were crystallized to the perovskite phase by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 600-degrees-C for a few minutes. The RTA-treated PZT films had not only extremely smooth surfaces but also tenfold stronger X-ray diffraction peak intensities of the perovskite structure than those of furnace-annealed films which had with rough undulation. The electrical properties of RTA-treated films indicated good ferroelectric properties. The remanent polarization and coercive field of the 100 nm-thick RTA-treated film were 15 muC/cm2 and 67 kV/cm, respectively. Fatigue measurements with alternating +/- 3 V pulses showed that the film was stable up to 10(9) cycles.