Improvement in the Polarization Fatigue Properties of PbZr0.50Ti0.50O3 Thick Film Using a Ba0.3Sr0.7Zr0.18Ti0.82O3 Buffer Layer

The polarization fatigue of PbZr1−xTixO3 (PZT) films is one of the most serious failure issues in their practical application. In the present work, Ba0.3Sr0.7Zr0.18Ti0.82O3 (BSZT) was used as an inserting layer to improve the polarization fatigue of PbZr0.50Ti0.50O3 thick film. PZT thick films and BSZT layers were deposited via magnetron sputtering technology. The effects of BSZT layer on the dielectric response, remanent polarization, and fatigue resistance of PZT thick films were investigated experimentally. The results showed that the dielectric constant increased from 457 to 880 (1 MHz), and the reversible/irreversible Rayleigh coefficients were also enhanced. The remanent polarization Pr of the PZT thick films increased from 37 μC/cm2 to 42.4 μC/cm2. After a 1.08 × 109 cycles polarization fatigue test, the ferroelectric polarization loss was 9% for the PZT thick film at 368 kV/cm. The reversible/irreversible Rayleigh coefficients had a very small decline, of only 5% and 2%, respectively. This demonstrates that, different from the previously reported buffer layers, BSZT buffer layers can simultaneously enhance the dielectric and ferroelectric properties and improve the polarization fatigue of PZT thick films.