Control of chemical composition of PZT thin films produced by ion-beam deposition from a multicomponent target

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is widely used for its ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties, which are conditioned by perovskite structure. Crystallization into this desired phase is determined also by a proper stoichiometry, where the lead concentration is a crucial parameter. The crystallization process takes place during annealing under high temperatures, which is linked to heavy lead losses, so the lead has to be in excess. Therefore, this paper is devoted to the control of chemical composition of PZT thin films deposited via ion beam sputtering (IBS). A commonly used approach for IBS relies on employing a multicomponent target to obtain films with the same composition as that of the target. However, in the case of PZT it is favorable to have the ability to controllably change the chemical composition of thin films in order to acquire high perovskite content. Our study revealed that the determinative lead content in PZT layers prepared by simple and dual ion-beam deposition from a multicomponent target can be easily controlled by the power of primary ion source. At the same time, the composition is also dependent on the substrate temperature and the power of assistant ion source. Thin PZT films with more than 30 % lead excess were acquired from a stoichiometric multicomponent target (i.e. a target without any lead excess). We can therefore propose several possible sets of deposition parameters suitable for the PZT deposition via IBS to obtain high perovskite content.