Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol.286, No.1, 37-41, 2006
Enhancement of ferroelectricity in the compositionally graded (Pb,Sr)TiO3 thin films derived by a sol-gel process
The compositionally graded Pb1-xSrxTiO3 (PST) films with a fine compositional gradient from Pb0.6Sr0.4TiO3 to Pb0.3Sr0.7TiO3 were fabricated on LNO-buffered Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by a sol-gel deposition method. The graded films crystallized into a pure perovskite structure and exhibited highly (10 0) preferred orientation after post-deposition annealing. Dielectric and ferroelectric properties were investigated as a function of temperature, frequency and direct current bias field. Dielectric constant peaks, common to a ferroelectric transition, were not observed in the temperature range of 25-250 degrees C within which the dielectric constant showed weak temperature dependence. This compositionally graded thin film can result in a dielectric constant more than double and a remanent polarization at least two and a half times larger than conventional PST thin films. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.