Ferroelectric properties of sol-gel derived Ca modified PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 films

In this letter, we report the ferroelectric properties and leakage current characteristics of Ca modified PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PCZT) films prepared by a sol-gel process. The PCZT film of thickness ∼1μm shows excellent ferroelectric properties in terms of large remnant polarization of ∼30μC∕cm2 (Ec∼200kV∕cm), high saturation polarization of about 51μC∕cm2 for an applied field of 915kV∕cm, fatigue free characteristics up to ⩾1010 switching cycles, and a low leakage current density of 5×10−8A∕cm2 at 100kV∕cm. X-ray diffraction, atomic force, and scanning electron microscope investigations indicate that PCZT films deposited on PbTiO3 layers exhibit a dense, well-crystallized microstructure having random orientations and a rather smooth surface morphology.