ISSN 1063-7834, Physics of the Solid State, 2014, Vol. 56, No. 11, pp. 2206–2212. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2014.
Original Russian Text © G.A. Komandin, O.E. Porodinkov, L.D. Iskhakova, I.E. Spektor, A.A. Volkov, K.A. Vorotilov, D.S. Seregin, A.S. Sigov, 2014, published in Fizika Tverdogo
Tela, 2014, Vol. 56, No. 11, pp. 2135–2141.
2206
1. INTRODUCTION
Solid solutions of lead zirconate titanate (PZT)
belong to a class of oxygen-octahedral ferroelectric
materials, which found a wide practical application
due to their pyroelectric, piezoelectric, and nonlinear-
optical properties. These materials can be synthesized
in a broad range of Zr–Ti concentrations in the form
of single crystals, ceramics, and thin films [1].
Ferroelectric lead titanate (PT) has tetragonal
symmetry, which is also conserved in the Pb(Zr
1–
x
Te
x
)O
3
solid solutions upon doping to x ~ 0.48. The
rhombohedral phase prevails in solid solutions at high
Zr concentrations (up to 90%) [2]. The orthorhombic
phase of the antiferroelectric PbZrO
3
affects the struc-
ture of solid solutions at Zr concentrations higher than
90% [3]. Vibrational spectra of the system of bulk sam-
ples of the PT and PZT solid solutions are investigated
using Raman scattering [4–6] and infrared spectros-
copy [7]. The authors of [8, 9] measured the transmis-
sion spectra of thin-film PT and PZT samples in the
far-infrared range and investigated the temperature
evolution of the soft mode parameters.
Multilayer heterostructures with thin ferroelectric
PZT films are of greatest interest for electronics. The
possibility to control the polarization of these films has
determined, in particular, their application in capaci-
tor cells of nonvolatile ferroelectric random access
memories (FRAM) [10–12]. The Pb(Zr, Ti)O
3
thin
ferroelectric films are prepared using different tech-
niques: vacuum sputtering, chemical vapor deposi-
tion, chemical deposition from aerosol sources, etc.
[13]. A convenient method for preparing planar PZT
films is the chemical deposition from solutions (the
sol–gel method) with their characteristic formation
temperatures of 400–650°C, which correspond to
temperatures of “conventional” production cycles of
silicon electronics [14, 15].
An important electrodynamic parameter of these
films is permittivity ε'. To determine it in the kilohertz
and megahertz ranges, bridge impedance meters are
usually used, which, in turn, requires using the metal
electrodes. The influence of electrodes on the film struc-
ture leads to additional errors in determining ε' [16].
The goal of this study is the contactless determina-
tion of electrodynamic parameters of amorphous and
polycrystalline PZT films in the terahertz (THz)–infra-
red (IR) range, in which the dynamic processes in the
crystal lattice form the static permittivity of the film.
The studied solid solution of the PbZr
0.52
Ti
0.48
O
3
composition lies in the phase diagram in the region of
the morphotropic boundary [17–21], which separates
two phases with ferroelectric properties, namely, the
rhombohedral one with an increased zirconium con-
tent and the tetragonal one with an increased titanium
content. This solution has the maximal permittivity in
the Pb(Zr
1– x
Ti
x
)O
3
family [22].
2. PREPARATION OF THE FILMS
Three samples of bilayer structures were fabricated
for spectral measurements in the THz–IR range. The
FERROELECTRICITY
Electrodynamic Properties of Lead Zirconate–Titanate Thin Films
in the Terahertz Frequency Range
G. A. Komandin
a
, O. E. Porodinkov
a,
*, L. D. Iskhakova
b
, I. E. Spektor
a
, A. A. Volkov
a
,
K. A. Vorotilov
c
, D. S. Seregin
c
, and A. S. Sigov
c
a
Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 38, Moscow, 119991 Russia
* e-mail: oporodinkov@ran.gpi.ru
b
Fiber Optics Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vavilova 38, Moscow, 119333 Russia
c
Moscow State Technical University of Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation,
pr. Vernadskogo 78, Moscow, 117454 Russia
Received May 14, 2014
Abstract—The transmission/reflection spectra of bilayer structures consisting of thin amorphous and poly-
crystalline Pb(Zr
0.52
Ti
0.48
)O
3
ferroelectric films deposited on dielectric substrates of magnesium oxide MgO
and sapphire α-Al
2
O
3
were measured in the frequency range of 5–4000 cm
–1
. Based on these spectra and
using the dispersion analysis method, the spectra of complex dielectric permittivity ε*(ν) and dynamic con-
ductivity σ'(ν) of the films were simulated, the electrodynamic parameters of the films were determined, and
the dielectric dispersion responsible for the formation of static permittivity was found.
DOI: 10.1134/S106378341411016X