Preparation of sol-gel-derived Ca1-xSrxZrO3 perovskite dielectric thin films

The sol-gel wet chemical synthesis of dielectric thin films of perovskite Ca1-xSrxZrO3 has been studied in detail using different techniques. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time in the literature to systemically study the properties of Ca1-xSrxZrO3 dielectric thin films in the whole solid solution composition range. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), Flourier transform infrared (FT-IR) reflectivity spectroscopy and atomic force microscope (AFM) data, the mechanisms of Ca1-xSrxZrO3 phase transformation and crystallinity have been investigated. The results show that the film annealed at 550 degrees C is amorphous with existing of carbonates, while the carbonates and other organics are decomposed at 600 degrees C and above, and the film is crystallized into the perovskite phase with increasing annealing temperature. The values of dielectric constant in a range of 16-30 for Ca1-xSrxZrO3 thin films have been obtained. Measured dielectric properties show that those films exhibit stable dielectric properties nearly independent on the applied electrical field and frequency at room temperature. Based on above data, it can be concluded that Ca1-xSrxZrO3 thin films are a promising candidate system for the high-k microelectronic devices application.