Large remanent polarization and small leakage in sol–gel derived Bi(Zn1/2Zr1/2)O3–PbTiO3 ferroelectric thin films

Abstract

The applications of ferroelectric thin films such as the sensitivity of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memories are closely linked with large remnant polarization. The high-T_C (1−x)Bi(Zn_1/2Zr_1/2)O₃–xPbTiO₃ (x = 0.7–0.9) thin films with high (100) orientation were fabricated on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates via a sol–gel method. The thin films could be crystallized well in a phase-pure perovskite structure. The electrical properties of the sol–gel-derived BZZ–PT thin films were investigated. A large remanent polarization with 2P_r up to 110 μC cm⁻² and a small leakage current of 3.8 × 10⁻⁷ A cm⁻² under an electric field of 150 kV cm⁻¹ are observed on the 0.2BZZ–0.8PT thin films. Furthermore, a relatively stable polarization fatigue property was achieved, indicating a potential application in high-temperature ferroelectric devices.