Absorption-reflection infrared spectroscopy studies of sol-gel prepared ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on Pt electrodes

Although the sol-gel method is ideally suited for the preparation of ferroelectric PZT thin films, poor reproducibility and the need to lower crystallization temperatures remain an issue. To address these problems, we have studied the mechanism of thin film formation using absorption-reflection infrared spectroscopy for a novel and less harmful precursor solution system based on butoxyethanol. By recording in situ infrared spectra we were able to monitor hydrolysis, condensation, decomposition and crystallization phenomena versus temperature. We speculate that the lower reactivity of butoxyethanol is responsible for the higher quality of Ti rich PZT based ferroelectric capacitors prepared by a butoxyethanol precursor solution compared with the more widely used methoxyethanol one. Finally, we observed that film's decomposition kinetics is faster as compared to bulk samples and depends on film thickness and electrode layer.