Ferroelectric properties of epitaxial Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 thin films on silicon by control of crystal orientation

Crystalline Pb (Zr, Ti )O-3 (PZT) thin films between metallic-oxide SrRuO3 (SRO) electrodes were prepared using pulsed laser deposition on CeO2/yttria-stabilized zirconia buffered silicon (001) substrates. Different deposition conditions for the initial layers of the bottom SRO electrode result in an orientation switch. Either (110)-or (001)-oriented SRO thin films are obtained and the PZT films deposited on the bottom electrode continued both growth directions. The ferroelectric characteristics of the SRO/PZT/SRO capacitors are found to be strongly dependent on their crystalline orientation: PZT (001)-oriented thin films showed stable, high quality ferroelectric response, while the remnant polarization of the PZT (110)-oriented thin films only show high response after multiple switching cycles. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3163057]