Electrical transport and dielectric breakdown in Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃thin films

Abstract

Abstract The I-V-t characteristics of Pb (Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 thin films have been studied. We show that there are three regions of importance in the current-time curves. At short times, there is a transitory region, where current decreases with time, and which may last for >103 seconds in the case of high quality samples. This is followed by the region of steady state leakage, which is best described by a Schottky-type model. However, the bottom electrode (especially oxides) can modify the microstructure significantly, leading to grain boundary conduction paths. The third region is resistance degradation and/or time dependent dielectric breakdown.