Electrical properties of highly (111)-oriented lead zirconate thin films

Antiferroelectric PbZrO3 thin films were grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates with predominant (111) orientation using a sol–gel process. The Pt/PbZrO3/Pt film capacitor showed well-saturated hysteresis loops at an applied voltage of 5 V with remanent polarisation (Pr) and coercive electric field (Ec) values of 8.97 μC/cm2 and 162 kV/cm, respectively. The leakage current density of the highly (111)-oriented PbZrO3 film was less than 1.0×10−7 A/cm2 over electric field ranges from 0 to 105 kV/cm. The conduction current depended on the voltage polarity. The PbZrO3/Pt interface forms a Schottky barrier at electric fields from 20 to 160 kV/cm. The dielectric relaxation current behaviour of Pt/PbZrO3/Pt capacitor obeys the well-known Curie–Von Schweidler law at electric field of 20–80 kV/cm, the currents have contributions of both dielectric relaxation current and leakage current.