Effect of bismuth content on the properties of Sr0.8BixTa1.2 Nb0.9O9+y ferroelectric thin films

This study investigates the effect of bismuth content on the ferroelectric properties of Sr0.8BixTa1.2Nb0.9O9+y (SBTN, x = 1.7, 2.0, 2.5, 2.7, 2.9, and 3.2) thin film capacitors. SBTN films are in situ grown on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates by using two-target off-axis radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at a substrate temperature of 600 degrees C. The films are crystallized with a high (115) diffraction intensity and exhibit a columnar microstructure. Experimental results indicate that the root mean square surface roughness of the film increases with an increase of the bismuth content. In addition, the ferroelectric properties of the films heavily rely on the bismuth content. Moreover, the 440-nm-thick Sr0.8Bi2.5Ta1.2Nb0.9O9+y films exhibit maximum remanent polarization (2Pr) of 52 mu C/cm(2) and minimum coercive field (2Ec) of 28 kV/cm at an applied voltage of 1.5 V. X-ray photoelectron spectral studies reveal that except for Bi+3, no lower valence state bismuth exists in the Sr0.8Bi2.5Ta1.2Nb0.9O9+y film and bismuth substituted in the strontium site still remains in its +3 valence state. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)06302-1].