Inhomogeneity of phase transition in lead titanate thin films formed by magnetron layer-by-layer deposition

The formation of deposited ferroelectric perovskite PbTiO3 thin films using layer-by-layer reactive magnetron sputtering was investigated in this work. Deposition rates of each layer (PbO and TiO2) for 7.2 and 9.2 nm/min, respectively, were chosen there. Silicon (110) substrate with the heater was moved periodically and parallel to the magnetron cathodes during deposition. The heater temperature (380 °C–700 °C) has influence on the stoichiometry of thin films. Perovskite phase of lead titanate was not obtained without post annealing. The reasons for this are discussed in the work. The results of the structure of thin layers deposited on silicon substrates at 380 °C and annealed for one hour at 700 °C in air have shown that a pure perovskite phase of PbTiO3 is formed there.