Abstract. Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃ (PZT) thin films have been successfully deposited on glass, silicon and ITO coated glass substrates by a 3.3 kJ Mather type dense plasma focus device. The x-ray diffraction spectra of the films deposited on glass substrates kept at a distance of 4.2 cm from the top of the anode with 10, 15 and 25 shots show peaks at 2θ = 31.3° corresponding to the perovskite phase of PZT. Transmission electron microscopy shows the presence of 0.5 nm grains of PZT. The leakage current density is found to be 10⁻⁶ A cm⁻² at a reverse voltage of 1 V, from current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics. The capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics show a counter-clockwise hysteresis loop with a memory window of 1.2 V. The ferroelectric characteristic has been confirmed using the polarization–field hysteresis loop. The resistance of the film is about 1 GΩ. The spontaneous polarization, remanent polarization and coercive field values are found to be 20.1 µC cm⁻², 8.6 µC cm⁻² and 79.9 kV cm⁻¹, respectively.

Print publication: Issue 7 (7 April 2004)
Received 1 October 2003
Published 17 March 2004