Size effects in ultrathin epitaxial ferroelectric heterostructures

The thickness scaling effect in PbZr 0.2Ti 0.8O 3 heterostructures was investigated. A systematic quantitative experimental study of the thickness dependence of switched polarization in (001) epitaxial PZT films, 4 to 80 nm thick was also shown. The experiment was focused on the PZT composition since it had an in-plane lattice parameter. A preliminary model based on a modified Landau Ginzburg approach suggested that the nature of the electrostatics at the ferroelectric-electrode interface played a significant role in the scaling of ferroelectric thin films.