Properties of high-density (Pb, La) (Zr, Ti) O3 ceramics for sputtering targets

Lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramics were fabricated by pressureless sintering without the usage of additives, and high purity (99.999%), high density (relative density > 98%), large size ( > phi 300 mm), and uniform distribution in density and composition were retained. Thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS) results under high vacuum, showed that these high-density PLZT ceramics sorbed less amount of gaseous components. From results of sputtering tests using these high-density targets, high deposition rate (85 nm min(-1)) was achieved with rf power 3 kW. Further, after rapid thermal annealing (RTA), the deposited films showed pure perovskite with (1 1 1) orientation. These results suggest that the high-density PLZT targets are potentially suitable for the use of mass production of electronic devices. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.