Study on leakage current properties of BiFeO₃ thin films with Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ buffer layer

ABSTRACT

A lead zirconate titanate (PZT) buffer layer was introduced for bismuth ferrite (BFO) thin films on platinum-coated silicon substrate, fabricated by sol-gel process. The enhanced crystallization has been obtained and explained by constraint stress contributed by the PZT buffer layer. The decreased leakage current has also been gained compared with the BFO thin film directly deposited on platinum electrode. The asymmetry of leakage current characteristic was exhibited and analyzed for this structure, which can be attributed to the differences of Schottky barrier height, because it has been proved that the leakage current mechanism is dominated by Schottky emission.

KEYWORDS:

• BFO
• leakage current
• buffer layer
• crystallization
• Schottky emission

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Fund for Central Universities of China (Grant No. 2672013ZYGX2013J039) and the Science and Technology Program of Chengdu (Grant No. 2014-HM01-00325-SF).