Microstructure and memory characteristics of ferroelectric LiNbO3/ZnO composite thin films on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds Vol. 590; pp. 205 - 209
• Main Authors: Hao, Lanzhong, Li, Yanrong, Zhu, Jun, Wu, Zhipeng, Long, Fengqin, Liu, Xingzhao, Zhang, Wanli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01.03.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Dielectric thin films; Dielectrics, piezoelectrics, and ferroelectrics and their properties; Electronic properties; Exact sciences and technology; Ferroelectric; Ferroelectric materials; Ferroelectricity; Interface; Physics; Semiconductors; Silicon dioxide; Silicon substrates; Thin films; Titanium dioxide; Zinc oxide; Ferroelectric; Electronic properties; Films; Interface; Semiconductor materials; Preferred orientation; CV characteristic; Thin films; Electronic structure; Ferroelectric materials; Lithium niobates; Zinc oxide; Microstructure; Memory effect; Double layers; Charge carrier injection
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2013.12.137

•Ferroelectric LiNbO3/ZnO composite films are fabricated and characterized.•All the interfaces are clear without any evidence of interaction and diffusion.•The memory characteristics are studied by capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements.•The composite thin film exhibits obvious counterclockwise C–V memory windows.•The memory windows increase with applied voltage and no charge injection happens. Composite thin films consisting of ferroelectric LiNbO3 (LN) and ZnO semiconductor layers were grown on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates and characterized. The films were single c-axis orientation and had well-defined interfaces without any evidence of interfacial interaction and diffusion. Due to the ferroelectric polarization of LN, counterclockwise capacitance–voltage memory windows were observed clearly. The memory window increased with applied voltage and no obvious charge injection happened. At ±8V, a large memory window of ∼3.3V was exhibited. The present results suggest that LN ferroelectric films combined with ZnO semiconductor would hold promise for high-performance nonvolatile memory devices.