Effect of crystallization temperature on microstructure and ferroelectric properties of (Bi,Nd)4Ti3O12 thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

(Bi,Nd)(4)Ti3O12 (BNT) ferroelectric films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition and the effect of crystallization temperature on their microstructure and ferroelectric properties were studied systematically. The crystallinity of the BNT films was improved and the average grain size increased as the crystallization temperature increased from 650 to 750 degrees C at an interval of 20 degrees C. However, the polarization and dielectric constant of the films are not a monotonous function of the crystallization temperature. The BNT films crystallized at 710 degrees C has the largest remanent polarization value of 2P(r) = 60.8 mu C/cm(2), and a fatigue-free characteristic. A positive correlation between the remnant polarization and dielectric constant of the BNT films has been observed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.