Electrical Properties of Sol-gel Derived Ferroelectric Bi3.35Sm0.65Ti3O12 Thin Films by Rapid Thermal Annealing

Ferroelectric Bi3.35Sm0.65Ti3O12(BSmT) thin films were synthesized using a sol-gel process. Bi(TMHD)(3), Sm-5((OPr)-Pr-i)(13), Ti((OPr)-Pr-i)(4) were used as the precursors, which were dissolved in 2-methoxyethanol. The BSmT thin films were deposited on Pt/TiOx/SiO2/Si substrates by spin coating. The electrical properties of the thin films were enhanced using rapid thermal annealing process (RTA) at 600 degrees C for 1 min in O-2. Thereafter, the thin films were annealed from 600 to 720 degrees C in oxygen ambient for 1 hr, which was followed by post-annealed for 1 hr after depositing a Pt electrode to enhance the electrical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the crystallinity and surface morphology of layered perovskite phase, respectively. The remanent polarization value of the BSmT thin films annealed at 720 degrees C after the RTA treatment was 35.31 mu C/cm(2) at an applied voltage of 5 V.