Effects of Ce, Cr and Er Doping and Annealing Conditions on the Microstructural Features and Electrical Properties of PbZrO3 Thin Films Prepared by Sol–Gel Process

Lead zirconate (PbZrO3) thin films doped with Ce, Cr and Er were grown on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by sol–gel spin coating process. Polycrystalline films with a phase-pure perovskite structure and a random orientation were obtained regardless of doping materials. Microstructural examinations of the films revealed a two-phase microstructure consisting of large rosette-type perovskite regions with a nanocrystalline phase located in between. Perovskite rosettes were found to be of polycrystalline in nature with grain size ranging between 50–250 nm. Increasing number of annealing cycles and temperature were found to improve the microstructure, crystallinity and electrical properties. Doping elements were also found to increase electrical properties with a saturation polarization (P sat) reaching 65 ×10-6 C/cm2 in Ce- and Cr-doped coatings compared to 39 ×10-6 C/cm2 for undoped PZ films.