Synthesis of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate, Pb [Zr0.52Ti0.48]O3 (PZT) thin film on gold substrate by sol-gel method

The main aim of this research is to simplify the production procedure by reducing processing steps, and to employ less hazardous chemicals to fabricate ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate, Pb[Zr_0.52Ti_0.48]O₃ (PZT) thin sol-gel film for microelectronics industry. Isopropanol based solution was used which is less toxic compared to existing solutions. The film was developed by spin coating on gold (Au) substrate. Dense, uniform and crack free PZT film with a fully perovskite crystallographic structure, and preferentially oriented towards the (110) plane, was successfully synthesized. By employing Ar-ion sputtering technique 80 nm thick gold (Au) top electrode was deposited on the film before electrical characterization. Electrical characterization was performed by analyzing capacity vs. voltage (C-V) and dielectric constant vs. voltage (ε-V) graphs of the capacitor fabricated. These graphs demonstrated nonlinear relation between the capacity and the applied voltage, and butterfly shape which are typical for ferroelectric materials. The dielectric constant was 484 at 0V and the coercive field value suggested it as soft ferroelectric material.