Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of highly oriented (Pb,Nb)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 thin films grown by a sol-gel process

Antiferroelectric (Pb,Nb)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 thin films were deposited via a sol-gel process on LaNiO3-coated silicon substrates. Films showed a strong (001) preferred orientation upon annealing at 500–700 °C for 30 min. The dependence of electrical properties on film thickness has been studied, with the emphasis placed on field-induced phase switching from the antiferroelectric to the ferroelectric state. The decrease of film thickness led to an increase of the phase-switching field along with the appearance of remanent polarization. However, the dielectric constant and maximum polarization decreased with the reduction of film thickness. Saturation polarization was 35 μC/cm2, which is equal to that observed in bulk samples.