Effect of Zr Content on Formation and Optical Properties of the Layered PbZr_xTi_1-xO_3 Films

PbZr_xTi_1-xO_3 (PZT) films are fabricated on F-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates using chemical solutions containing PVP polymer and rapid thermal annealing processing. The dependence of the layered PZT multilayer formation and their optical properties on the Zr content x are examined. It is found that all the PZT films are crystallized and exhibit 110-preferred orientation. When x varies in the region of 0–0.8, the PZT films display lamellar structures, and a high reflection band occurs in each optical reflectance spectrum curve. Especially, those PZT films with Zr/Ti atomic ratio of 35/65–65/35 show clearly layered cross-sectional morphologies arranged alternatively by porous and dense PZT layers, and have a peak optical reflectivity of >70% and a band width of >45 nm. To obtain the optimal Bragg reflection performance of the PZT multilayers, the Zr content should be selected in the range of 0.35–0.65.