( Pb , La ) ( Zr , Sn , Ti ) O 3 antiferroelectric thin films grown on LaNiO3-buffered and Pt-buffered silicon substrates by sol-gel processing

Antiferroelectric (Pb,La)(Zr,Sn,Ti)O3 thin films have been fabricated on LaNiO3∕Pt∕Ti∕SiO2∕Si and Pt∕Ti∕SiO2∕Si substrates by a sol-gel processing technique. The films grown on LaNiO3-buffered silicon substrates showed a dense columnar microstructure and were highly (100)-oriented while those grown on Pt-buffered silicon substrates showed an equiaxed microstructure without any obvious preferred orientation. The relationship between the orientation of films and the saturation polarization was studied. The phase switching field and the dielectric constant were investigated as a function of film thickness.