abstract
High-resolution domain studies are performed on Pb(Zr1-xTix)O-3 (PZT) films of different thicknesses and compositions (x = 0.30, 0.48, and 0.70) by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Depending on the composition, the orientation of the films is varied from purely (111) (related to the orientation of Pt bottom electrode) to a more random texture. Statistical processing of the obtained domain images is used to analyze the correlation between the composition of the films and their nanoscale piezoelectric properties. It is shown that the virgin (unpoled) films possess large piezoelectric activity comparable to that after local poling (self-polarization effect). This corresponds to a clear predominance of the domains with polarization oriented from the free surface of the film to the bottom electrode. Both the average piezoelectric signal and half-width of the piezoelectric histograms depend on the composition and thickness of the films. The largest local piezoelectric coefficient and the broadest distribution are found for tetragonal (x = 0.70) films with almost pure (111) texture. The results are discussed in terms of texture and PFM instrumentation effects on local piezoelectric measurements.
keywords
SCANNING FORCE MICROSCOPY; LEAD-ZIRCONATE-TITANATE; THIN-FILMS; PB(ZR,TI)O-3; ORIENTATION; PHASE; CAPACITORS; DEPENDENCE; BEHAVIOR
subject category
Materials Science; Physics
authors
Bdikin, IK; Shvartsman, VV; Kholkin, AL; Kim, SH
our authors
