Ferroelectric behavior in nominally relaxor lead lanthanum zirconate titanate thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition on copper foil

Authors

• Taeyun Kim, North Carolina State University, RaleighFollow
• Jacqueline N. Hanson, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Alexei Gruverman, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Angus I. Kingon, North Carolina State University, RaleighFollow
• S. K. Streiffer, Center for Nanoscale Materials and Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

June 2006

Comments

Published in Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 262907 2006. Copyright © 2006 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

We demonstrate that (Pb_0.9La_0.1)(Zr_0.65Ti_0.35)_0.975O₃ (PLZT) (10/65/35) thin films that have a nominally relaxor composition and that are deposited by chemical solution deposition onto copper foil show polarization hysteresis. Ferroelectric domain switching and a shift in Curie temperature are also observed. This is in contrast to the non-hysteretic behavior of films with identical composition prepared on Pt/SiO₂ / Si substrates. This suggests that the mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion between PLZT and copper induces a compressive strain in the PLZT during cooling after high temperature crystallization under low pO₂, and causes an out-of-plane polarization.