Electro-Optic Properties of Pb(Zr1-xTix)O₃ (X=0, 0.3, 0.6) Films Prepared by Aerosol Deposition

We measured annealing temperature and the Zr-to-Ti concentration ratio dependence of the electro-optic (EO) effect for highly transparent Pb(Zr 1- x Ti x )O 3 [PZT] films more than 1 µm thick, directly deposited on glass substrates by aerosol deposition (AD). X-ray diffraction patterns show that as-deposited AD films have a large strain and lattice distortions, and these affects can be attenuated by increasing annealing temperature. The dielectric constant of AD-PZT films increased with annealing temperature, which is consistent with the X-ray diffraction measurement. The EO effect was enhanced with increasing Zr concentration, and a linear EO coefficient ( r c ) of 102 pm/V was obtained for the PbZr 0.6 T 0.4 O 3 film annealed at 600°C, whose composition is near its morphotropic phase boundary. The r c of PbZr 0.6 T 0.4 O 3 films increased with annealing temperature, and the film annealed at 850°C showed an r c of 168 pm/V. The EO measurements show that AD is a highly promising film-deposition method for optical devices such as EO modulators and optical switches.