Synthesis of Lead Zirconate Titanate Stannate Antiferroelectric Thick Films by Sol-Gel Processing

The effects of different sintering procedures on the preparation of antiferroelectric thick films and the structure–property relations in these films were studied. An acetic acid‐based sol–gel processing with multistep annealing and suitable lead oxide overcoat layers was developed to fabricate both niobium‐doped and lanthanum‐doped lead zirconate titanate stannate antiferroelectric thick films. The 5‐μm‐thick Pb0.99Nb0.02(Zr0.85Sn0.13Ti0.02)0.98O3 films demonstrate typical square hysteresis loops with a maximum polarization of 40 μC/cm2, zero remanent polarization, an antiferroelectric‐to‐ferroelectric phase transition field of 153 kV/cm, and a ferroelectric‐to‐antiferroelectric phase transition field of 97 kV/cm. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss are 283 and 1.7%, respectively. The 5‐μm‐thick Pb0.97La0.02(Zr0.65Sn0.31Ti0.04)O3 films display typical slanted hysteresis loops with very small hysteresis, a maximum polarization of 35.0 μC/cm2, and zero remanent polarization. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss are 434 and 2.0%, respectively.