PULSED LASER DEPOSITION AND FERROELECTRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF BISMUTH TITANATE FILMS

Stoichiometric films of bismuth titanate, Bi4Ti3O12, have been grown for the first time by the technique of pulsed excimer laser deposition. Ferroelectric films were obtained at temperatures as low as 500-degrees-C on Si(100), MgO(110), and Pt-coated Si(100) substrates. Hysteresis measurements using a Pt-coated Si sample yielded a saturation polarization value of about 28-mu-C/cm2, consistent with a randomly oriented titanate film structure. A preliminary metal-insulator-semiconductor sandwich structure of the form Bi4Ti3O12-CaF2(100 angstrom)-Si was grown and used to examine polarization induced memory switching effects.