Use of the solvent chemistry for the control of the critical thickness of PbTiO 3 ultrathin films

The preparation of high-quality ferroelectric PbTiO 3 -based ultrathin films by chemical solution deposition, using a diol-based sol-gel method, has proved to be successful. However, there is a critical thickness below which the films break up into isolated structures. According to previous studies,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials research 2010-05, Vol.25 (5), p.890-898
Main Authors: Fernández, Roberto, Holgado, Susana, Huang, Zhaorong, Calzada, Maria L., Ricote, Jesús
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The preparation of high-quality ferroelectric PbTiO 3 -based ultrathin films by chemical solution deposition, using a diol-based sol-gel method, has proved to be successful. However, there is a critical thickness below which the films break up into isolated structures. According to previous studies, above a certain grain size to thickness ratio a microstructural instability occurs and the coatings are no longer continuous. We explore the use of the solvent chemistry to control this phenomenon, as an alternative to the more conventional variation of the crystallization parameters. The use of diols with short C chain lengths leads to films with smaller grain sizes, whose critical thicknesses are lower. A reduction from 40 to 15 nm is achieved by reducing the number of C of the diol used from 5 to 2. A critical value of G / t < 5.0 is necessary to obtain continuous ultrathin films with the processing conditions used.
ISSN:0884-2914
2044-5326
DOI:10.1557/JMR.2010.0127