Piezoresponse force microscopy and dielectric spectroscopy study of Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thin films

Abstract

Research on synthesis, characterization and determination of processing — structure — property relationships of commercially important ferroelectric thin films has been performed. The sol–gel type solution deposition technique was applied to produce good quality thin films of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]TiO3 (BST60/40) chemical composition on the stainless steel substrates. The thin films were characterized in terms of their microstructure, crystal structure, phase composition, piezoelectric and dielectric properties. It was found that the BST60/40 thin film adopted the cubic structure at room temperature with an elementary cell parameter [Formula: see text] Å. Morphology of the thin film surface was studied with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Average roughness of the thin films surface was found ([Formula: see text]m). Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) was applied for the thin film characterization. Active piezoelectric regions were found in BST60/40 thin film. Therefore, dielectric response measured at room temperature was studied in assumption of piezoelectric electric equivalent circuit.