Influence of high-temperature annealing on the orientation of the unipolarity vector in lead zirconate titanate thin films

The factors responsible for the change in the orientation of the natural unipolarity vector due to heating to the Curie temperature of a Pt/PZT/Pt thin-film capacitor (PZT—lead zirconate titanate) formed on a TiO₂/SiO₂/Si substrate have been considered. Lead zirconate titanate thin layers containing a small excess of lead oxide have been formed ex situ using high-frequency magnetron sputtering with a variation in the annealing temperature (crystallization of the perovskite phase) in the range from 580 to 650°C. It has been assumed that the reorientation of the unipolarity vector in the PZT layer is caused by the change in the mechanism of crystallization of the perovskite phase with an increase in the annealing temperature.