Low temperature growth of (100)-oriented Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 thin films using a LaNiO3 seed layer

Low-temperature growth of Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O-3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (BZT-0.5BCT) films, at temperatures as low as 550 degrees C, was successfully achieved by a sol-gel route using a LaNiO3 seed layer. The influence of the seed layer on the crystallization behavior and electric properties of the films was investigated in detail. It was found that low interfacial diffusion and high (100) orientation were simultaneously achieved by introducing a seed layer between films and substrates. Low leakage current density was obtained as a result of low-temperature crystallization and low interfacial diffusion, and the piezoelectric coefficient remained at a relatively high value because of the high orientation. This study showed that low-temperature crystallization suppresses interfacial diffusion and can extend film applications, for example, integrating them with silicon substrates. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.