Sol-gel synthesis of crack-free thin films of calcium lead titanate

Calcium modified lead titanate ferroelectric thin films were prepared using the modification of the diol sol-gel system. The films prepared are crack-free. Single layer films up to ~0.5 μm thick could be prepared from 0.6 M sols; thicker films up to ~3.5 μm could be prepared from multiple deposition procedure using ten coating of 0.4 M sol. Firing the precursor films at a temperature of ~650°C induced crystallization to the perovskite phase. The polarization-electric field response of the films were examined. Initially the films of various compositions in the system Pb_1-xCa_xTiO₃ up to x=0.3 showed a wide variation in electrical properties across each film