Switching properties of Pb(Nb, Zr,Ti)O3 capacitors using SrRuO3 electrodes

We report on ferroelectric properties of polycrystalline sol-gel derived Pb(Nb,Zr,Ti)O3 (PNZT) thin films with SrRuO3 (SRO) electrodes. The processing temperature of the bottom electrode was varied between 550 and 850°C. The polarization of the ferroelectric capacitors was dependent on the processing temperature of the bottom electrode. The capacitors exhibit low switching fields (40 kV/cm), high resistivity (1011 Ω cm at 3 V) and high remanent polarization values (19 μC/cm2 at 3 V), desirable properties for high-density ferroelectric memories. The activation field for these capacitors was measured to be ∼350 kV/cm and the polarization values exhibited a shallow dependence on the pulse width from 1 s to 1 μs. Fatigue, logic state retention, and dynamic imprint tests indicate robust capacitors from a memory viewpoint. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.