Sol–gel synthesis and characterization of PZT thin films on FTO/aluminoborosilicate glass substrates

Abstract

The deposition of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films on transparent substrates is a relevant issue due to the increasing interest in PZT-basednanocomposites for photovoltaic applications. In this work, PZT thin films weredeposited onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated aluminoborosilicate glass(AG) substrates using a modified sol–gel route. AG substrates have theadvantage of high thermal resistance and low cost compared to quartz. Conventional furnace annealing (CFA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) processes were compared at different temperatures to determine optimumconditions for the fabrication of good-quality films. Crack-free films of* 240 nm thickness were fully crystallized to the perovskite structure with nosegregation of secondary phases. The optical band gap slightly increases withthe increase of the annealing temperature. Au/PZT/FTO-AG capacitorsexhibited good dielectric and ferroelectric properties. The best results wereobtained for the films treated by CFA at 650 C, which display well-defined lowfrequency hysteresis loops.