Dependence of ferroelectric performance of sol-gel-derived Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on bottom-Pt-electrode thickness

Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 (PZT) thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti and Pt/IrO2 electrode stacks with various Pt thicknesses (30-200 nm) by a sol-gel process. The sputter-deposited Pt films showed a (111)-preferred texture irrespective of the thickness. However, a high-resolution x-ray diffraction study of the Pt films showed that the films were composed of three kinds of grains with slightly different lattice parameters. The grains with a bulk-like lattice parameter grew with increasing Pt thickness, which was accompanied with an improvement in the crystalline quality. Accordingly, the crystallization and ferroelectric behavior of the 100-nm-thick PZT films improved with increasing Pt film thickness. However, the PZT films on the Pt/IrO2 electrode showed a deteriorated ferroelectric performance due to the outward diffusion of the Ir (O) onto the Pt surface, which increases the depolarizing field and amount of charge injection by the formation of a conducting phase. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.