Dielectric relaxation of lanthanum doped zirconium oxide

Abstract

Lanthanum doped zirconium oxide (Lax–Zr1−xO2−δ) films, with La contents, up to x=0.35, were studied. Films were annealed at 900 °C to crystallize them into phases with higher κ-values. Increasing the La content suppressed the monoclinic phase and stabilized the tetragonal or cubic phase. The highest dielectric constant was obtained for a lightly doped film with a La content of x=0.09, for which a κ-value of 40 was obtained. This was accompanied by a significant dielectric relaxation, following a single Curie–von Schweidler power-law dependency with frequency, changing to a mixed Curie–von Schweidler and Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts relationships after annealing. The dielectric relaxation was most severe for lightly doped films, which had the highest κ-values. The dielectric relaxation appears to be related to the size of crystal grains formed during annealing, which was dependent on the doping level.