Highly (100) oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/LaNiO3 films grown on amorphous substrates by pulsed laser deposition

Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 (PZT)/LaNiO3 (LNO) thin films with highly (100) out of plane orientation were produced on SiO2/Si(100) and alkaline earth aluminosilicate glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Orientations of both PZT and LNO films were evaluated using X-ray diffraction. The pure (100)-oriented PZT/LNO films were obtained under optimized deposition conditions. Time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis showed that LNO could effectively block interdiffusion between the PZT films and the substrates. Fairly smooth surfaces of the PZT films with roughness of about 4 nm were observed using an atomic force microscope. Cross sectional examination revealed that the films grew in columnar grains. The PZT films grown on both SiO2/Si and glass substrates demonstrated very good ferroelectric characteristic at room temperature with remnant polarization of up to 26 mu C/cm(2).