Effects of LaNiO₃ seed layer on the microstructure and electrical properties of ferroelectric BZT/PZT/BZT thin films

Ferroelectric multilayer films attract great attention for a wide variation of applications. The synergistic effect by combining different functional layers induces distinctive electrical properties. In this study, ferroelectric BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3/PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (BZT/PZT/BZT) multilayer thin films are designed and fabricated by using the magnetron sputtering method, and a LaNiO3 (LNO) seed layer is introduced. The microstructures and electrical properties of the BZT/PZT/BZT films with and without the LNO seed layer are systematically studied. The results show that the BZT/PZT/BZT/LNO thin film exhibits much lower surface roughness and a preferred (100)-orientation growth, with the growth template and tensile stress provided by the LNO layer. Moreover, an enhanced dielectric constant, decreased dielectric loss, and improved ferroelectric properties are achieved in BZT/PZT/BZT/LNO thin films. This work reveals that the seed layer can play an important role in improving the microstructure and properties of ferroelectric multilayer films.Published versionThe authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Outstanding Youth Fund of Heilongjiang Province (No. YQ2020E031). China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No.2021T140166