Influence of SrTiO3 or Pt buffer layer on the formation of perovskite phase Pb1-xLax(ZryTi1-y)1-x/4 O3 films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Interdiffusion between layers in Pb₁-xLa_x(Zr ₁-yTi_y)O₃(PLZT)/SrTiO₃/Si thin films were studied. The structural profiles examined by grazing incident X-ray diffraction (GIXD) and the elemental profiles examined by secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS) revealed that the SrTiO₃ buffer layer can effectively block the interdiffusion between PLZT and Si only when this layer has fully covered the Si substrates. The SrTiO₃ layer were proposed to grow islandwisely and did not form a continuous films when deposited for short interval, leaving behind a large proportion of uncoated Si surface. Serious interaction between Si and the subsequently deposited PLZT films was thus induced. However, pronounced film-to-substrate interaction did not lead to more marked Pb-loss at film´s surface. By contrast, slower crystallization kinetics of the deposited species was proposed to be the factor that caused Pb re-vaporization