PZT Thin Films Synthesis by Sol-Gel Method and Study of Local Ferroelectric Properties.

In this paper scanning probe microscopy investigations of surface morphology and local ferroelectric properties of sol-gel deposited PZT thin films are presented. It is shown that the films have sufficiently low surface roughness about 2 nm and small grain size about 20 nm. Possibility of the film polarization by applying both positive and negative DC voltage between the SPM probe and the sample is demonstrated. Additionally, times of residual piezoresponse signal relaxation are measured and domain wall velocity for the PZT films is calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]