Fabrication and electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate thick films by the new sol–gel method

Lead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3, PZT) ferroelectric films with 2–60 μm in thickness have been successfully fabricated on Pt-coated oxidized Si substrates(Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si) by a new sol–gel based 0-3 method. The films consisted of 0-3 ceramic/ceramic composites formed by dispersing nanopowders in a PZT solution. The precursor solution for spin coating was prepared from lead acetate, tetrabutyl titanate, and zirconium nitrate. The microstructure and morphology of the prepared PZT thick films were investigated by X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The XRD analysis indicates that the thick films possess single-phase perovskite type structure and no pyrochlore phase exists. The SEM micrograph shows that the PZT thick films were of uniformity, density and crack-free. Dielectric constant of 860, loss tangent of 0.03, remnant polarization of 25 μC cm−2, a coercive field of 40 kV cm−1 were obtained on 50 μm thick films annealed at 700 °C.