Ordered Mesoporous Thin Film Ferroelectrics of Biaxially Textured Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) by Chemical Solution Deposition

Abstract

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin film nanostructures with a high degree of biaxial texturing and good ferroelectric properties have been prepared by facile chemical solution deposition on (001)-oriented STO:Nb and LSMO/STO:Nb substrates using a poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymer as structure-directing agent. The samples were thoroughly characterized by electron microscopy, synchrotron-based grazing incidence smallangle X-ray scattering, X-ray diffraction (including θ-2θ, ω, and φ scans), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and by ferroelectric polarization switching and fatigue measurements. We show that (1) the cubic mesostructured films with 16 nm diameter pores can be crystallized to produce single phase perovskite PZT with retention of nanoscale order, (2) the sol-gel derived material has an in-plane texture of ~1.9° and an out-ofplane texture of ~1.5°, and (3) the top surface is Zr-rich (the composition in the interior of the films is closer to the targeted composition of PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 ). The coercive field and remanent polarization of approx. 100 nm-thick films derived from dynamic P-E experiments are ~250 kV cm -1 and ~25 μC cm -2 (~7 μC cm -2 after subtracting the non-switching components). Despite the use of Au top electrodes, the nanocrystalline samples show reasonable fatigue performance.All these features render the mesoporous PZT thin films attractive, e.g., for producing straincoupled composite multiferroics.

Optoelectronic properties and polar nano-domain behavior of sol–gel derived K0.5Na0.5Nb1−xMnxO3−δnanocrystalline films with enhanced ferroelectricity

“…[1][2][3][4] Interest in effective alternatives to PZT-based materials has surged in order to create lead-free piezoelectric materials with properties that closely match those of the PZT family. Owing to the notorious toxicity of the lead element, these lead-based materials raise environmental and health concerns, limiting their development in many fields, such as biology and medicine.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Lead Zirconate Titanate Nanofibers Obtained by Electrospinning

“…The representative deconvoluted Zr 3d XPS spectra of PZT‐S and PZT‐D nanofibers are shown in the left and the right of Figure (a), respectively. The Zr 3d XPS spectra of PZT‐S/D were deconvoluted with three peaks and assigned to Zr 4+ of PZT, PbZrO 3 , and ZrO 2 centered at the binding energies of 181.4, 182.3, and 183.2 eV, respectively (Table ) . As the annealing temperature increased, the intensity of Zr 4+ of PbZrO 3 increased while Zr 4+ of PZT decreased in both PZT‐S and PZT‐D nanofibers.…”

Potassium‐Sodium‐Niobate‐Based Thin Films: Lead Free for Micro‐Piezoelectrics

“…The sol–gel process has obtained particular interest because of its chemical homogeneity, ease of compositional control, low cost, easy processing, the ability to produce large‐area films, easy control of the thickness of the resultant films, ease of integration with semiconductor silicon technology, and suitability for mass production . However, using conventional sol–gel methods, it is difficult to prepare films thicker than 1 µm and the formation of microcracks as well as the possibility of incorporation of organic residuals from the precursor solution.…”