Antiferroelectric lead zirconate thin films by excimer laser ablation

Abstract

Utilization of antiferroelectric thin films was proposed for high charge storage capacitors and transducer applications. The volume changes that are associated with the AFE⇒FE and FE ⇒ AFE phases are high enough to use them in MEMs device technology. Lead zirconate was the first identified antiferroelectric compound with a reported dielectric phase transition temperature of ~230° C. In this article, deposition of lead zirconate thin films by a pulsed excimer laser ablation technique is reported. The antiferroelectric nature of the lead zirconate thin films were confirmed by the presence of double hysteresis loop in polarization vs. applied electric field response as well as double butterfly behavior in capacitance vs. voltage characteristics. The variations in the polarization hysteresis with temperature were elucidated in detail. The switching times between the field induced FE and AFE phases (backward switching) were studied at various applied electric fields.