Ferroelectric thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract We review our significant results concerning pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of some ferroelectric compounds: (i) lead magnesium niobate Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 (PMN); (ii) lead magnesium niobate–lead titanate Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 –PbTiO 3 (PMN–PT), with variable PT contents; (iii) La-doped lead zirconate titanate (Pb 1 −  x La x )(Zr 0.65 Ti 0.33 )O 3 (PLZT); and (iv) Nb-doped lead zirconate titanate Pb 0.988 (Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48 ) 0.976 Nb 0.024 O 3 (PNZT). A parametric study has been performed in order to evidence the influence of the deposition parameters (laser wavelength, laser fluence, oxygen pressure, substrate type and temperature, RF power discharge addition, etc.) on the film properties and to identify the best growing conditions. Techniques including atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrical and ferroelectric hysteresis measurements have been used for layer characterization.