Preparation and Characterization of Ba(Zr_xTi_1-x)O₃ Thin Films Using Reactive Sputtering Method

Ba(Zr_xTi_1-x)O₃ (BZT) thin films with different Zr contents were deposited on (100) MgO and (100) Pt/(100) MgO substrates by RF-magnetron reactive sputtering using metal targets. The BZT (0 < x < 0.89) thin films had a single perovskite phase with only (001)/(100) orientation. In all cases, the ratio of Ba/Ti was stoichiometric according to X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDX) measurement. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) study proved that BZT films possess a dense microstructure without cracks or voids. The grain size was found to decrease with increasing of Zr content. The effect of Zr content on the dielectric constant and leakage current was studied. BZT thin films showed ferroelectric-to-paraelectric properties with increasing Zr content and excellent leakage properties according to measurements of electrical properties. These results indicated that we succeeded in depositing high-quality and low-sputter-damage BZT thin films by reactive sputtering using metal targets.