Structure and improved electrical properties of Pr-doped PbZrO3 antiferroelectric thin films with (111) preferential orientation

Pr-doped PbZrO3 antiferroelectric thin films have been fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by a chemical solution deposition method. All the thin films with different Pr doping contents crystallized in perovskite phase with strong (111)-preferred orientation. When Pr doping amount was 1 mol%, the thin film exhibited a large saturation polarization of 59.4 μC cm−2, a high energy storage density of 14.2 J cm−3 at about 600 kV cm−1, and a dielectric constant of about 354 at 1 kHz. The high (111) orientation and occupying site of Pr ions were suggested to be responsible for the improved electrical properties of the thin films.