Preparation and characterization of PLZT thin films by sol-gel processing

The effect of acid catalysts on the sol-gel preparation of ferroelectric lead lanthanum zirconium titanate (PLZT) thin films was studied. High quality thin films were successfully produced by using suitable amounts of the drying control chemical additive formamide and also catalyst acids during the sol-gel processing followed by various annealing conditions. The dielectric constants of the PLZT (8/65/35) thin films produced in this study varied between 540 (100 kHz) for a film annealed at 600 degrees C for 30 mins to a maximum 870 degrees C (1 kHz), 700 (100 kHz) for a film annealed at 650 degrees C for 20 mins.