Growth and thickness effect of <100>-oriented ternary 0.06Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.94Pb(Zr0.48Ti0.52)O3 ferroelectric thin films on silicon substrate by RF sputtering

The development of advanced piezoelectric thin films with large piezoelectric response on silicon substrate is a crucial technology for piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems applications. In this work, high-quality <100>-oriented 0.06Pb(Mn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.94Pb(Zr_0.48Ti_0.52)O₃ (PMN-PZT) thin films were grown on the Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate by sputtering. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and piezoresponse force microscopy were utilized to characterize the phase, morphologies, and domain structures. The growth parameters were optimized and thickness-dependent electrical properties were established. Well-crystalized micron-thick PMN-PZT films with high remnant polarization of 49 $\text{μC}/{\text{cm}}^2$ and giant piezoelectric coefficient ($d_{33}$) up to 484 $\text{pC}/\text{N}$ (about twice of the polycrystalline PMN-PZT thin film and thrice of the Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ thin film) were obtained. The excellent electrical properties make it highly advantageous for applications in MEMS devices.