Effect of the PbOx thickness on the microstructure and electrical properties of PLT thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

The (Pb0.90La0.10)Ti0.975O3 (PLT) thin films with different thicknesses of PbO, buffer layers were deposited on the Pt(111/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The PbOx buffer layer leads to the (100) orientation of the PLT thin films. Effects of the PbOx thickness on the microstructure and electrical properties of the PLT thin films were investigated. The experimental results show that the PbOx thickness plays an important role on the orientation, phase purity, domain structure, and electrical properties of the PLT thin films. The PLT thin films with proper PbOx thickness possess highly (100) orientation, high phase purity, strong intensity of out of plane polarization, and good electrical properties. It is concluded that the PbOx thickness between PLT thin films and Pt coated Si substrate is very critical to obtain good electrical proper-ties. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.