Impact of the Seed Layer on the Domain Switching and Electrical Properties of PbZr _0.52 Ti _0.48 O ₃ Thin Films

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films are an important component for piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (piezo-MEMS) and ferroelectric device applications. Three different seed layers, PbTiO3 (PT), PbZrO3 (PZ), and Pb0.8La0.1Ca0.1Ti0.975O3 (PLCT), were applied to deposit PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) films via the sol–gel method on Pt(111)/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates. All films exhibited well-polycrystalline orientation. To demonstrate the differences of these films in device applications, the crystalline structure, surface morphology, piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of these films were characterized. The results indicate reduced grain sizes in these films compared to pure PZT films. Under the action of the seed layers, the piezoelectric coefficients and domain switching behavior of these films were significantly improved. Furthermore, the PZT/PZ film exhibited an ultralow leakage current density (<10–4 A/cm2) and a loss tangent (<0.05) at ±350 kV/cm.