Single-target DC-pulsed deposition of lead zirconate titanate thin films: Investigation of the chemical and mechanical properties by glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy and nanoindentation

Reactive sputtering of a single metallic target in a pulsed DC mode is a promising approach for a fast and cost-efficient deposition of thin lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films on an industrial scale. Rapid depth profiling of the coatings is necessary for an efficient optimization of the process parameters. We demonstrate in this paper that glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy is a valuable instrument meeting these requirements. The results obtained on several coatings which have been thermally treated in various ways indicate basically a high uniformity over the whole coating thickness, with the exception of Pb-enrichment at the surface and at the interface. This is in agreement with results obtained by other techniques reported in the literature. The mechanical properties of our PZT coatings as determined by nanoindentation showed reduced values for the hardness which could be explained by the structural and compositional data of the films.