Effect of Li substitution on dielectric and ferroelectric properties of ZnO thin films grown by pulsed-laser ablation

Abstract

Li-doped ZnO thin films (Zn_1-xLi_xO, x = 0.05-0.15) were grown by pulsed-laser ablation technique. Highly c-axis-oriented films were obtained at a growth temperature of 500° C. Ferroelectricity in Zn_1-xLi_xO was found from the temperature-dependent dielectric constant and from the polarization hysteresis loop. The transition temperature (T_c) varied from 290 to 330 K as the Li concentration increased from 0.05 to 0.15. It was found that the maximum value of the dielectric constant at T_c is a function of Li concentration. A symmetric increase in memory window with the applied gate voltage is observed for the ferroelectric thin films on a p-type Si substrate. A ferroelectric P-E hysteresis loop was observed for all the compositions. The spontaneous polarization (P_s) and coercive field (E_c) of 0.6 µ C/cm² and 45 kV/cm were obtained for Zn_0.85Li_0.15O thin films. These observations reveal that partial replacement of host Zn by Li ions induces a ferroelectric phase in the wurtzite-ZnO semiconductor. The dc transport studies revealed an Ohmic behavior in the lower-voltage region and space-charge-limited conduction prevailed at higher voltages. The optical constants were evaluated from the transmission spectrum and it was found that Li substitution in ZnO enhances the dielectric constant.