Pulsed laser deposition of epitaxial PbZrxTi1ÿxO3 ferroelectric capacitors with LaNiO3 and SrRuO3 electrodes

It is commonly accepted that, in order to solve the fatigue problem in PbZrxTi1ÿxO3 (PZT) ferroelectric capacitors, oxide electrodes have to be used. However, clear criteria for the choice of an electrode material have not given yet. Here we report on the deposition and ferroelectric properties of epitaxial pulsed laser deposited PZT capacitors with SrRuO3 and LaNiO3 perovskite bottom electrodes, and aluminium top electrodes. Remarkable improvement of the ferroelectric properties, i.e. remanent polarization increasing from 7.5 to 37 mC/cm2, is observed when the bottom electrode material is changed from SrRuO3 to LaNiO3. This improvement is attributed to a smoother ferroelectric/electrode interface and the formation of the tetragonal phase of PZT instead of the rhombohedral one. # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved