Analysis of Hysteresis Measurements in Epitaxial SRO/PZT/Pt Capacitor Structures

P-E hysteresis loops were measured in SrRuO3/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/Pt capacitor structures grown on (100) SrTiO3 single-crystal substrates using high-oxygen pressure on axis dc-sputtering technique. PZT films were grown by rf magnetron sputtering in a pure oxygen atmosphere. Capacitor structures with electrode areas of 5.0 × 10−4 and 6.5 × 10−3cm2 revealed clear hysteretic behavior. These hysteresis loops displayed asymmetric behavior due to the asymmetry of the electrodes used in SRO/PZT/Pt capacitors. We fitted hysteresis curves measured on capacitors based upon 40-nm thick PZT thin films by using a stochastic model of hysteresis proposed by Pál permitting the extraction of information on their ferroelectric properties.