Ferroelectric memory in La substituted Bi4Ti3O12 thin films

The recent demonstration of large ferroelectric memory in rare earth substituted Bi4Ti3O12 attracted a lot of research interest in this material. Bi4-xLaxTi3O12 was synthesized by sol-gel route for different compositions: x = 0.00, 0.46, 0.56, 0.75, 0.95 and thin films were deposited by spin coating on Pt (Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si) substrate. The post annealed films at 700degreesC were studied for their structural studies using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The prominent effect of La substitution is observed in low frequency Raman modes. X-ray diffraction and Raman studies show that the film growth was c-axis suppressed. Using improved contacts to Pt substrate, ferroelectric polarization P-r = 51 muC/cm(2) has been achieved for 0.63 mum thick film of composition: x = 0.56 (BLT56) without appreciable fatigue.