<title>Fabrication and characteristics of PLZT thin films derived from MOD process</title>

Crack free PLZT (9/65/35) thin films were prepared by a metallic organic decomposition (MOD) process on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) and sapphire(001) substrates respectively. The films on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates present highly (111)-preferred orientation while they display highly (110)-preferred orientation on sapphire substrates. The microstructure of the films were investigated and discussed. Ferroelectric properties of PLZT thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates have been studied. Typical slim polarization-electric field hysteresis loops were observed. As the film thickness increasing, the remanent polarization P_r increases and the coercive electric field E_c drops. The influence of film thickness on optical transmittance and refractive index n_r were examined by the films deposited on sapphire substrates. The n_r at 510nm wavelength shows an increasing tendency with film thickness increasing. Great stress aggregated during the film processing is thought to be an important reason which results in the variations of optical properties dependent on the film thickness.