Effect of grain size on degradation of Pt/PLZT/Pt capacitor

During the lateral grain-growth process in lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films by selectively nucleated lateral crystallization using PZT seed, it was found that the lateral growth was saturated with the annealing temperature. The saturation of lateral growth was analyzed by the interface energy, which appeared during the crystallization process. The factors affecting the saturation of lateral growth were found to be the interface energy between the perovskite phase and the pyrochlore phase, and the one between the PZT thin film and the bottom Pt electrode. When the ion damage was introduced to the growth-saturated PZT thin films, further lateral growth was observed. Pt bottom electrode thickness was changed to control the interface energy between the PZT thin film and the Pt bottom electrode. PZT grain size increased according to the Pt thickness, because the lattice parameter of Pt films increased with the thickness of the Pt films. The incubation time for nucleation in the PZT thin films increased with the amount of the ion damage on the Pt films.

show abstract

Unexpected behavior of transient current in thin PZT films caused by grain-boundary conduction

Delimova

Guschina

Серегин

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Physics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The behavior of the transient current at different preliminary polarizations has been studied in Pb(ZrTi)O3 (PZT) films with various grain structures. To affect the grain structure, PZT films were prepared by chemical solution deposition with a two-step crystallization process using combination of seed layers with a low Pb excess and the main layers with a 30 wt. % Pb excess. Some films were prepared with a fixed Pb excess in all the deposited layers. We found that the lead excess and the seed layer crystalline structure can affect the grain-boundary conduction which, in turn, influences the polarization dependence of the transient current and the appearance of current peaks which look like the so-called negative differential resistance region in the current-voltage curves. We show that the emergence of the current peaks in the PZT films depends on (i) whether the current flows inside the ferroelectric phase (grains) or outside, along grain boundaries and (ii) whether the applied bias direction is parallel or opposite to the polarization vector. A correlation between the grain-boundary conduction and current-polarization dependences is confirmed by the local current distribution measured by conductive atomic force microscopy. Possible mechanisms responsible for specific features of the transient current and appearance of the current peaks are discussed. The effect of grain-boundary conduction on the behavior of the current may be significant and should be taken into account in ferroelectric random access memory whose readout operation assumes registration of the magnitude of the polarization switching current under positive bias.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Effect of grain size on degradation of Pt/PLZT/Pt capacitor

Cited by 7 publications

References 4 publications

Advanced piezoelectric–ferroelectric stack actuator

Advanced piezoelectric–ferroelectric stack actuator

Self-limiting behavior of the grain growth in lead zirconate titanate thin films

Unexpected behavior of transient current in thin PZT films caused by grain-boundary conduction

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About