The effect of Zr on the microstructure of Ba(Ti1-yZry)O3 thin films prepared by chemical-solution deposition

The microstructure of BaTi1-yZryO3 (y = 0, 0.15, 0.3) thin films prepared by a chemical-solution deposition technique has been studied by means of transmission electron microscopy. In the BaTiO3 films, grains and cavities are polyhedral in shape. Twins and stacking faults occur. Some of them terminate in the interior of a grain. A substitution of Ti by Zr in BaTiO3 makes the grains and cavities round and suppresses the formation of the twins and stacking faults. With a Zr content of y = 0.3 the film becomes free of twin and stacking faults and exhibits a columnar grain morphology. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.