A study of the effects of process variables on the synthesis of PZT thin films by the pyrosol process

We investigated the feasability of elaboration by the pyrosol process, on various substrates, of PZT (52/48) ferroelectric phases in thin film configuration. Changes in the deposition process, such as the introduction of multilayer techniques, as well as exand in-situ post-depositional annealing treatments, were applied in order to evaluate their impact on the composition, surface morphology and crystallinity. Under certain conditions, the perovskite phase was found to comprise up to 80% of the crystalline material in films elaborated with an in-situ annealing treatment. The primary competing phase in impure deposits was lead oxide.