Accidental Impurities in Epitaxial Pb(Zr<sub>0.2</sub>Ti<sub>0.8</sub>)O<sub>3</sub> Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition and Their Impact on the Macroscopic Electric Properties
Georgia Andra Boni,
Cristina Florentina Chirila,
Viorica Stancu,
Luminita Amarande,
Iuliana Pasuk,
Lucian Trupina,
Cosmin Marian Istrate,
Cristian Radu,
Andrei Tomulescu,
Stefan Neatu,
Ioana Pintilie,
Lucian Pintilie
Affiliations
Georgia Andra Boni
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Cristina Florentina Chirila
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Viorica Stancu
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Luminita Amarande
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Iuliana Pasuk
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Lucian Trupina
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Cosmin Marian Istrate
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Cristian Radu
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Andrei Tomulescu
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Stefan Neatu
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Ioana Pintilie
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Lucian Pintilie
National Institute of Materials Physics, Atomistilor 405A, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Structural and electrical properties of epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 films grown by pulsed laser deposition from targets with different purities are investigated in this study. One target was produced in-house by using high purity precursor oxides (at least 99.99%), and the other target was a commercial product (99.9% purity). It was found that the out-of-plane lattice constant is about 0.15% larger and the a domains amount is lower for the film grown from the commercial target. The polarization value is slightly lower, the dielectric constant is larger, and the height of the potential barrier at the electrode interfaces is larger for the film deposited from the pure target. The differences are attributed to the accidental impurities, with a larger amount in the commercial target as revealed by composition analysis using inductive coupling plasma-mass spectrometry. The heterovalent impurities can act as donors or acceptors, modifying the electronic characteristics. Thus, mastering impurities is a prerequisite for obtaining reliable and reproducible properties and advancing towards all ferroelectric devices.
