Properties of sol-gel PZT films based on indium-tin oxide substrate

Abstract Sol-gel ferroelectric thin films of PZT [Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3] were prepared by spin coating on indium-tin oxide (ITO) substrate formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The properties of PZT film after rapid thermal annealing (RTA) were tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for orientation of crystallization, and by ferroelectric tester RT66A for electrical characteristics. The results show that sol-gel PZT can be crystallized normally on ITO substrate formed by CVD. The main texture of PZT on ITO is <110>, and the temperature of crystallization is higher than that on Pt substrate. The leakage current density of a 0.64 μm thick sol-gel PZT film on ITO is about 5×10−7 A/mm2 which is higher than that of PZT on Pt substrate. The remnant polarization (Pr) and effective dielectric constant (Kef) were about 13 μC/cm2 and 1380 at 8V respectively which are similar to PZT films on Pt. Measurement of fatigue of sol-gel PZT on ITO substrate indicated that the decrease of Pr (less than 10%) mainly took place during the initial 1.5×106 cycles, and after that Pr had no remarkable change in the following 109 cycles. ITO films formed by CVD can be used as electrodes for non-volatile memory application. Nearly fatigue free ferroelectric thin films can be obtained on ITO electrodes.