Preparation of ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.5,Ti0.5)O3 thin films by sol–gel process: dielectric and ferroelectric properties

Ferroelectric lead zirconium titanate (Pb(Z0.5,Ti0.5)O3) thin films were prepared by sol–gel spin coating technique. Three-step pre-annealing heat treatment was employed to prepare crack-free films. Phase-pure perovskite crystallization was obtained by annealing the films on Pt/Ti/Corning 7059 glass substrates at 550 °C. Films were having fine-grained microstructure with average grain size of the order of 20 nm. Resistivity of the 0.54-μm-thick film was the order of 1010 Ω cm at 15 V. Dielectric constant and loss tangent at 10 kHz were in the range 1000–1250 and 0.04–0.077, respectively. Remanent polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) were in the range 26–29 μC/cm2 and 49–58 kV/cm, respectively.