Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 thin films with different thicknesses obtained at low temperature by microwave irradiation

Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 (PZT) thin films with different thicknesses (99–420 nm) were prepared on Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO2/Si(1 0 0) substrates by sol–gel method and films were annealed at 450 °C for 30 min using a single-mode cavity of 2.45 GHz microwaves. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the pyrochlore phase was transformed to the perovskite phase at above 166 nm films. The grain sizes were increased, surface roughnesses were decreased, and electrical properties were improved with film thickness. The leakage current density was 9 × 10−8 A/cm2 at an applied electrical field of 100 kV/cm. The ohmic and field-enhanced Schottky emission mechanisms were used to explain leakage current behavior of the PZT thin films. These results suggest that microwave annealing is effective for obtaining low temperature crystallization of thin films with better properties.