RF magnetron sputter deposition and analysis of strontium-doped lead zirconate titanate thin films

The paper investigates conditions for depositing perovskite-oriented strontium-doped lead zirconate titanate (PSZT) thin films using RF magnetron sputtering. PSZT is a material that can exhibit high piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties. The deposition was conducted using an 8/65/35 PSZT sputtering target. The effects of sputtering conditions and the deposition rates for films sputtered onto several surfaces (including gold and platinum coated substrates) were studied. Combinations of in-situ heating during sputtering and post-deposition Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) were performed and resulting phases determined. RTA was carried out in argon to observe their effects. The sputtered films were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Results show dramatic differences in the grain structure of the deposited films on the different surfaces. The stoichiometry of the sputtered films is demonstrated using XPS. In the case of gold and platinum coated substrates, sputtering was also carried out for different durations, to establish the growth rate of the film, and to observe the variation in grain size with sputtering duration. The deposited thin films were resistant to most chemical wet etchants and were Ion Beam Etched (IBE) at 19 nm/min.