In this study, the effect of ZnO buffer layer on the electrical properties of PbZrTiO₃/BiFeO₃ (PZT/BFO) multilayers has been reported. For this, PZT/BFO multilayers were spin-coated with and without ZnO buffer layer on platinized silicon wafers. X-ray diffraction results of both the films showed polycrystalline phase pure perovskite structure. Both the films show a dense and homogeneous grain structure. The electric properties of the films were measured. The ZnO buffered multilayer thin film showed ∼3 times improvement in remnant polarization compared to the multilayer thin film with no buffer. The buffered samples were found to have higher dielectric constant (1000 at 100 Hz) compared to that of sample (580 at 100 Hz)) with no buffer. Dielectric constants of both the films were found to be ∼30% tunable at 5 V. The buffered film also showed low leakage current density and higher dielectric breakdown compared to the multilayer thin film without buffer.

Ultrathin (<50 nm) zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) films are being intensively studied as high-k dielectrics for future metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology. In this paper, ultrathin ZrO₂ films are deposited on silicon substrates by spin on deposition technique and annealed at 700 °C for different duration. The phase formation and morphological study have been performed by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Electrical properties of the films are investigated. The threshold voltages of the MOS structure were found to vary from −1.5 V to −2.5 V as the annealing time increases. The dielectric constants of the films are found to be 7.2–7.67 at 1 KHz. Leakage current of the films is found to increase with the annealing time. The dielectric breakdown field of the film is found to be 6.29–8.15 MV/cm.