Structural analysis of coexisting tetragonal and rhombohedral phases in polycrystalline Pb(Zr0.35Ti0.65)O3thin films

Abstract

Structural properties of polycrystalline Pb(Zr0.35Ti0.65)O3(PZT) thin films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on Ir bottom electrodes were investigated. Symmetric x-ray diffraction measurements showed that as-deposited 1500 íthick PZT films are partially tetragonal and partially rhombohedral. Cross-section scanning electron microscopy showed that these films have a polycrystalline columnar microstructure with grains extending through the thickness of the film. X-ray depth profiling using the grazing-incidence asymmetric Bragg scattering geometry suggests that each grain has a bilayer structure consisting of a near-surface region in the etragonal phase and the region at the bottom electrode interface in the rhombohedral hase. The required compatibility between the tetragonal and rhombohedral phases in he proposed layered structure of the 1500 Å PZT can explain the peak shifts observed n the symmetric x-ray diffraction results of thicker PZT films.