Temperature-dependent ferroelectric and dielectric properties of Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 thin films

To investigate temperature-dependent ferroelectric and dielectric properties of ferroelectric films, Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 (BLT) thin films were prepared on Pt-coated silicon substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The ferroelectric and dielectric behaviors have been studied in a wide temperature range from 80 K to room temperature. The saturated polarization (Psat) decreases with decreasing temperature and decreasing electric field, whereas remnant polarization (Pr) shows a more complex temperature dependence. These results, which can be well explained based on a temperature-dependent charged defects–domain wall interaction model, might be helpful for further understanding the domain switching behavior. Based on these results, an alternative way to investigate temperature-dependent ferroelectric fatigue is proposed and experimentally carried out. The measured fatigue rate is found to be linearly dependent on temperature, consistent with the report on Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films. Temperature-dependent dielectric measurements of the films further confirm the above explanation.