Property modification of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films by low-energy oxygen ion bombardment during film growth

Low-energy oxygen ion bombardment is being used to enhance the electrical properties of multi-ion beam sputter deposited ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films. The degree of (100) orientation, remnant polarization (Pr), coercive field (Ec), and dielectric constant (k) of the films were chosen to properly quantify the bombardment effect. It was found that these properties are strongly dependent on the ion beam flux and bombarding ion energy. The ion/atom ratios between 1.0 and 1.3 and the bombarding energies within the range of 60–80 eV are optimal to realize desirable property modification. Relative to the nonbombarding case, the bombardment could increase the Pr and k by up to 60% and 25%, respectively, and reduce the Ec by about 20%.