PZT thin film deposition on Si wafers and optical fibers prepared by reactive DC pulsed magnetron sputtering from a single metallic target

A metallic target was utilized to produce lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films by reactive DC pulsed magnetron sputtering on either Ti/Pt(111)/Ti-coated Si wafers at 490 °C or optical glass fibers at 500 °C. Multicrystalline PZT thin films were obtained by applying both conventional annealing (CA) at 650–720 °C in air and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 550–700 °C in vacuum. The morphological, structural, and chemical properties of post-annealed PZT have been examined as a function of the annealing temperature and time. Homogeneous, dense and crack-free specimens were produced by CA at 690 °C for 2 h. Low micro-crack formation was observed when PZT-coated wafers were annealed at 550–700 °C by applying RTA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals an excess of Pb in the top layer of the surface. The chemical environments of the elements did not change significantly during annealing. First deposition experiments with optical fibers were conducted. Although CA at 650 °C resulted in the successful formation of PZT, scanning electron micrographs showed blister and crack formation.