Thermal induced changes of lead zirconium titanate films and their consequences for liquid crystal devices applications

• Published in: Philosophical magazine (Abingdon, England) England), 2010-05, Vol.90 (16), p.2223-2233
• Main Authors: Castriota, Marco, D'Elia, Stefano, Marino, Salvatore, Cazzanelli, Enzo, Scaramuzza, Nicola, Versace, Carlo, Bartolino, Roberto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Deposition; Dielectric thin films; Dielectric, piezoelectric, ferroelectric and antiferroelectric materials; Dielectrics, piezoelectrics, and ferroelectrics and their properties; Exact sciences and technology; Floats; Glass; Indium tin oxide; Lead zirconate titanates; lead zirconium titanate thin films; Liquid crystals; Optical properties; Physics; sol-gel technique; structural properties; thermal treatments; Thin films
• ISSN: 1478-6435; 1478-6443; 1478-6433
• DOI: 10.1080/14786431003630850

Thin films of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) were obtained by a modified sol-gel route on float glass and indium tin oxide (ITO)-covered float glass substrates. Different thermal treatments were performed on the deposited films in the temperature range 100-700°C. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to investigate the optical properties of the deposited films, and the changing optical absorption spectra were interpreted in terms of the growth of two different crystal phases, pyrochlore and ferroelectric perovskite, as a function of annealing temperature. Moreover, a specific resonance at 1.9 nm was detected when thin PZT films are deposited on ITO substrates and was attributed to a particular charge distribution at the interface. Finally, the performance in rectifying the electro-optical response of asymmetric nematic liquid crystal cells was tested for some of the films undergoing different thermal treatments.