A novel Sr_{3}Pb_{6}Ce_{2}Ti_{12}O_{36} ferroelectric thin film grown by pulsed laser ablation

Complex perovskite oxide ferroelectric thin films are of great technological interest because of their high dielectric constant and large tunability. In this paper, we report the structural and electrical properties of Sr (_{3}) Pb (_{6}) Ce (_{2}) Ti (_{12}) O (_{36}) (SPCTO) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. The role of oxygen pressure and substrate temperature on the microstructure, dielectric properties and leakage current mechanism of SPCTO thin films was investigated. Strong oxygen partial pressure dependence on the microcrystalline properties and leakage current conduction mechanism was observed. Both Raman spectra and C-V characteristics show a ferroelectric phase rather than paraelectric phase for the deposited thin films. Investigations on the leakage current showed that SPCTO thin films deposited at different oxygen pressure have different dominant conduction mechanism at various electric fields. The low field conduction mechanism is governed by Ohmic and space charge limited conduction mechanisms, whereas at high fields, the conduction process is dominated by Schottky emission mechanism. The dielectric constant as well as the tunability is found to increase with increase in the crystallite size.