Piezoelectric properties of epitaxial Pb(Zr0.525, Ti0.475)O3 films on amorphous magnetic metal substrates

Epitaxial growth of high piezoelectric constant Pb(Zr-0.525, Ti-0.475)O-3 (PZT) thin films deposited on amorphous magnetic Metglas (R) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is reported. Particularly, Pt or Au buffer layers were employed to initiate epitaxial growth of the PZT films from atop of an amorphous surface. The optimization of deposition conditions for the PZT films with different buffer layers was systematically investigated. The crystal structure, texturing, and surface morphology of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were measured indicating high polarization 27 mu C/cm(2) and piezoelectric constant d(33), 46 pm/V for the Pt buffered films. The PZT thin films grown on a magnetostrictive material have demonstrated high quality crystallographic structure and piezoelectric response, having potential for use in emerging magnetoelectric sensors. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3677864]