Ferroelectricity in thin perovskite films

We report on the investigation of ferroelectricity in thin tetragonal single-crystalline perovskite films of Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 grown by off-axis rf magnetron sputtering. The local ferroelectric properties of atomically smooth films, with thicknesses ranging from a few unit cells to 800 A, were measured using a combination of electric force microscopy and piezoelectric microscopy. The time dependence of the measured signals reveals a stable ferroelectric polarization in films down to thicknesses of 40 A.

[1]  J. Triscone,et al.  Control and imaging of ferroelectric domains over large areas with nanometer resolution in atomically smooth epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thin films , 1998 .

[2]  Okada,et al.  Size effect on the ferroelectric phase transition in PbTiO3 ultrafine particles. , 1988, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[3]  Fischer,et al.  Two-dimensional and three-dimensional vortex lattice dynamics in DyBa2Cu3O7-(Y1-xPrx)Ba2Cu3O7 coupled heterostructures. , 1994, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[4]  A. M. Glass,et al.  Principles and Applications of Ferroelectrics and Related Materials , 1977 .

[5]  Thomas Tybell,et al.  Local, nonvolatile electronic writing of epitaxial Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/SrRuO3 heterostructures , 1997 .

[6]  L. Eric Cross,et al.  Dimension and Size Effects in Ferroelectrics , 1997 .

[7]  K. Dransfeld,et al.  Local poling of ferroelectric polymers by scanning force microscopy , 1992 .

[8]  C. M. Foster,et al.  Characteristics of PZT thin films as ultra-high density recording media , 1997 .

[9]  Stephen Ducharme,et al.  Two-dimensional ferroelectric films , 1998, Nature.

[10]  Leslie E. Cross,et al.  SIZE EFFECTS IN NANOSTRUCTURED FERROELECTRICS , 1996 .

[11]  Y. Yano,et al.  GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF 10-NM-THICK C-AXIS ORIENTED EPITAXIAL PBZR0.25TI0.75O3 THIN FILMS ON (100)SI SUBSTRATE , 1998 .

[12]  B. Terris,et al.  Imaging of ferroelectric domain walls by force microscopy , 1990 .

[13]  D. Norton,et al.  X-Ray Diffraction Measurement of the Effect of Layer Thickness on the Ferroelectric Transition in Epitaxial KTaO 3 / KNbO 3 Multilayers , 1998 .