Barium metaplumbate (BaPbO ₃) electrodes for ferroelectric thin films

Conductive oxide electrodes can minimize electrical fatigue in perovskite ferroelectrics, and are thus attractive alternatives to Pt for use in ferroelectric devices. Barium metaplumbate (BaPbO ₃, BPO) is particularly suited for use with Pb _1-xBa _xTiO ₃ ferroelectrics, as it provides good lattice matching without introducing additional cation species. Here, an economical single-step, single ligand sol-gel process for producing BPO thin films at low temperatures is presented. Thin film BPO electrodes were prepared via spin-coating onto single crystal MgO(100) substrates. BPO powders and thin films were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and simultaneous differential and gravimetric thermal analysis (STA). The effect of deposition parameters on resulting conductivity and orientation is discussed. Although the BPO shows almost random orientation, PBT thin films deposited on these electrodes have (100/001)-preferred orientation.