Characterization of sol-gel derived Pb(Zr_0.3Ti _0.7)O₃/PbTiO₃ multilayer thin films

Ferroelectric Pb(Zr_0.3Ti_0.7)O₃/PbTiO ₃ multilayer thin films are fabricated by the sol-gel method. The properties of PZT/PT multilayer thin films with different PZT and PT layers stacking structures have been systematically studied. All the films are dense and smooth with single perovskite phase. "Pinched" ferroelectric hysteresis loops are found for multilayer thin films. The dielectric constant of multilayer thin film decreases when the PT volume fraction increases. The dielectric loss of 5PZT/4PT multilayer thin film are comparable to that of pure PZT, however, all the other multilayer thin films show much higher dielectric loss. When compared to the pure PZT thin film, the 5PZT/4PT multilayer film has comparable pyroelectric coefficient, reduced dielectric constant and comparable dielectric loss. Therefore, the 5PZT/4PT thin film shows higher pyroelectric detectivity figure of merit and is a promising material structure for pyroelectric application.