Tunable electric properties of PbZrO3 films related to the coexistence of ferroelectricity and antiferroelectricity at room temperature

Polycrystalline PbZrO3 films with a preferred orientation were fabricated via the metal-organic decomposition method. For heat-treated PbZrO3 films, the P-E hysteresis loops, dielectric spectra, and I-V curves show interesting changes with time, which strongly suggest the coexistence of antiferroelectric and ferroelectric phases at room temperature. Based on the easy transition between these two phases, the electric properties of the films become tunable. A dielectric tunability of about 50.2% below 8.2V makes it a promising low working-voltage dielectric tunable material, and the significant current change of four orders of magnitude indicates potential application as a voltage-controlled rheostat. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4720146]