Low-temperature preparation and characterization of SrBi2Ta2O9 thin films on (100)-oriented LaNiO3 electrodes

SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) ferroelectric thin films were prepared by the metalorganic decomposition technique at annealing temperatures of 600 and 650 degrees C on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates coated by (100)-oriented LaNiO3 (LNO) metal oxide thin films, which were fabricated by the sol-gel technique combined with a layer-by-layer annealing method at 600 degrees C. A (200)-predominant SBT thin film can be formed on LaNiO3(100)/Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate at 600 degrees C. The effect of the LNO oxide electrode on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of SBT thin film annealed at 600 degrees C was studied. Although the remanent polarization of the (200)-predominant SBT thin film is not as large as expected, the film can be uniformly polarized and imaged using an atomic force microscope in the piezoelectric mode. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)01213-4].