Development of phases and texture in sol-gel derived lead zirconate titanate thin films prepared by three-step heat-treatment process

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films were fabricated by the addition of 10 mol% excess Pb to the starting solution which was spin-coated onto Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates. The effect of film thickness on texture was investigated, and it is clear that the (100) texture gradually increases and the (111) texture decreases with increasing film thickness. A Pt_xPb intermetallic metastable phase was observed by X-ray diffraction, and it is found that the position of this peak shifted from 38.30° 2θ (d: 0.2348 nm) to 37.10° 2θ (d: 0.4213 nm) with increasing firing temperature from 350°C to 550°C. The (111) preferred orientation in the PZT film was promoted by the metastable Pt_xPb phase. The formation of the (100) texture of perovskite phase in the multilayer films was mainly attributed to the effects of both substrates and crystal growth rates which depend on the crystal orientation.