()()O3 (BSZT) lead-free ferroelectric thin films at the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were successfully deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si using a modified spin-coated sol-gel method. Microstructure and electrical properties of the thin film were studied. | VNU Journal of Science: Mathematics – Physics, Vol. 35, No. 1 (2019) 55-61 Original article Preparation and Microstructure of Acetate-based Lead-free BSZT Ferroelectric Thin Films Using Sol-gel Technique Pham Thi Nguyet1, Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong1,2, Vu Thu Hien1,*, Vu Ngoc Hung1 1 International Training Institute for Materials Science (ITIMS), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1 Dai Co Viet, Hanoi, Vietnam 2 College of industry and trade, 1, Chua Cam, Trung Nhi, Phuc Yen, Vinh Phuc Vietnam Received 15 January 2019 Revised 04 March 2019; Accepted 15 March 2019 Abstract: ()()O3 (BSZT) lead-free ferroelectric thin films at the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were successfully deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si using a modified spin-coated sol-gel method. Microstructure and electrical properties of the thin film were studied. High resolution synchrotron X–ray powder diffraction (SXRD) combined with Rietveld refinement revealed that the samples were crystalized in tetragonal perovskite structure with in-plane symmetry (c < a). Raman spectra also confirmed a tetragonal perovskite crystalline lattice structure. Polarisation studies demonstrate that BSZT films exhibit a rather high saturation polarisation of −2. Leakage current behaviour was obtained and possible conduction mechanism is discussed. Keywords: xBST-(1-x)BZT ferroelectric materials, thin film technology, sol-gel. 1. Introduction Ferroelectric materials have a unique combination of properties such as spontaneity, a switchable polarisation, piezoelectricity, and pyroelectricity. Therefore, such materials have been extensively studied for many applications, including non-volatile random access memories (NVRAMs), dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), high-frequency (GHz) bypass capacitors, infrared detectors, as well as tunable devices in microwave electronics [1, 2]. Lead zirconate titanate PZT has been long time the leading commercial material for .
