Dielectric properties of oriented thin films of PbZrO3 on Si produced by pulsed laser ablation

PbZrO3 is an antiferroelectric perovskite with Tc approximate to 230 degrees C. We have deposited single phase, perfectly c-axis oriented thin films of PbZrO3 on Si(100) substrates by pulsed laser ablation at 700 degrees C. The growth conditions (substrate temperature, ambient oxygen pressure, and laser energy density) have been optimized and the morphology of the films studied by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. From a study of the dielectric hysteresis of the films and a measurement of the temperature dependence of their capacitance, we find that films thicker than approximate to 300 nm are antiferroelectric,while thinner films (<300 nm) appear to exhibit ferroelectric behavior. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.