Low-Temperature Crystallization of Sol-Gel Derived Pb(Zr0.4,Ti0.6)O3 Thin Films.

We have studied the crystallization of sol-gel derived Pb(Zr0.4Ti0.6)O3 [PZT(40/60)] thin films at 435 down to 420°C. The PZT(40/60) films were prepared at these temperatures on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates by a combination of diol-based solutions and modified film preparation processes. Various properties of the PZT(40/60) films such as microstructures, crystal orientation, ferroelectric properties, relative permittivity, and leakage current density were evaluated. It was found that PZT(40/60) films could be crystallized at 435 to 420°C by the diol-based solutions and the modified film preparation processes. The PZT(40/60) films had microstructures with perovskite-single-phase fine columnar grains and good electric characteristics such as remanent polarization (Pr) of 12 to 15 µC/cm2, relative permittivity (er) of 780, and breakdown voltage of more than 10 V.