Ferroelectric Gd-doped ZnO nanostructures: Enhanced dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties

Gadolinium doped ZnO nanorods were grown by wet chemical method. Line broadening of each diffraction peak was studied to evaluate the crystallite size, lattice strain, stress and energy density. Crystallite size was estimated by Scherrer and Williamson-Hall methods. The size was found to be in good agreement with the results of transmission electron microscopy. As a result of Gadolinium doping, high remnant polarization (P-r = 0.29 mu C/cm(2)) and coercive field (E-c = 16.41 kV/cm) were observed. The decrease in leakage current due to Gadolinium doping makes ZnO a remarkable candidate for ferroelectric capacitor. High ferroelectric phase transition temperature (T-c = 215 degrees C) and large piezoelectric coefficient (d(33) = 45.49 pm/V) were observed which makes Gadolinium doped ZnO sample useful for high temperature non-volatile ferroelectric memory applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.