X-ray diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopic studies of (001)-oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 thin films prepared by laser ablation

Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3/LaNiO3 (PZT/LNO) heterostructural thin films have been fabricated on LaAlO3 (LAO) single crystal substrates in the range of oxygen pressures from 50 to 400 mTorr by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that the films grow with the good relationships PZT(001)//LNO(001)//LAO(001) and PZT<100>//LNO<100>//LAO<100>. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the surfaces of the as-received PZT films indicates that the O 1s peak can be decomposed into two components, lattice oxygen, and surface adsorbed oxygen. Each high resolution XPS spectrum of Pb 4f, Zr 3d, and Ti 2p consists of only one spin-orbit doublet, which is in agreement with the chemical state of each element in the PZT system. The Ar+-ion sputtering results in the increase in the concentrations of Pb, Zr, and Ti ions and the reduction of partial Pb2+ ions to Pb-0 due to preferential removal of the oxygen ions. Oxygen pressures higher than 200 mTorr during the deposition of PZT thin films appear to favor the growth of stoichiometric PZT thin films. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.