Investigation of Structural, Morphological, Optical, and Electro-optical Properties of PZT Thin Films Deposited by Custom-Made RF Magnetron Sputter

Abstract

This study investigates the structural, morphological, optical, and electro-optical characteristics of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thin films deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO2:F, FTO) substrates using a custom-made radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system. The films were grown at a substrate temperature of 300 oC and subsequently annealed at 650 oC for 1 hour in a muffle furnace in an air ambient to promote crystallization and phase formation. XRD analysis confirms the formation of polycrystalline perovskite PZT with a preferred (110) orientation, average lattice constant of 4.09 Å, and average crystallite size of 37.06 nm. SEM analysis reveals a homogeneous granular surface morphology with grain sizes ranging from 95 to 105 nm, while EDS analysis verifies a Zr/Ti atomic ratio of 51.9/48.1, closely matching the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) composition of the PZT in the target. Optical transmittance measurements show approximately 80% transmittance in the visible region, and Tauc’s plot analysis yields a direct bandgap of 3.35 eV for the annealed film, representing a significant blue shift compared to the 2.66 eV bandgap of the as-deposited film. The transient photocurrent measurements carried out under the Hg-Xe light excitation reveal an increase from picoampere level (dark) to 17 nA (illuminated), with rise and fall times of ∼ 130 ms. The results demonstrate that RF magnetron sputtering combined with appropriate thermal treatment produces high-quality PZT thin films, which can be suitable for ultraviolet (UV) optoelectronic applications.

Keywords

• PZT thin films
• RF magnetron sputtering
• Perovskite ferroelectrics
• UV photodetector
• Self-powered

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