Structural and Electrical Properties of Lead Zirconate Titanate 0–3 Composite Films

Abstract

Modified sol-gel method alongwith the infilteration process have been used to deposit dense, crack-free ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) 0–3 ceramic/ceramic composite films of composition Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ and thickness greater than 10 μm onto a platinum coated silicon substrate. PZT powder with the same composition was dispersed using a dispersant ESL400 in PZT sol to obtain a slurry. The slurry and the sol were alternatively deposited on the substrate followed by drying, pyrolysis and final annealing at 750°C to get single phase perovskite structure of the film. Thickness of the film was determined by SEM. Surface morphology of the film was studied by AFM. Raman spectrum of the film depicts coexistence of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases. Temperature dependence of dielectric constant shows that the films exhibit diffused phase transition rather than relaxor behavior. The remanant polarization (P_r) and coercive field (E_c) of the resulting film are 13.5 μC/cm² and 57 kV/cm respectively.

Keywords:

• PZT
• ferroelectric
• composite film
• SEM
• AFM

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Director, Solid State Physics Laboratory, Delhi for providing financial support in the form of a CARS project. One of the authors (Anupama Sachdeva) is also thankful to Principal, Keshav Mahavidyalalya, University of Delhi for granting study leave for undertaking this work.