Temperature dependence of ferroelectric property and leakage mechanism in Mn-doped Pb(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 films

Abstract High-quality ferroelectric films of Mn-doped Pb(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 (PMZT) were prepared using the sol-gel method, and the temperature dependence of ferroelectric, dielectric, and leakage current properties (J–E) were explored in detail using the top electrode/ferroelectric films/bottom electrode capacitor heterostructure. The enhancement of polarization and dielectric properties by element doping is clearly observed by 3% Mn-doping. Such enhancement is beneficial for the application of these films in ferroelectric random-access memory. In addition, the analysis of leakage current reveals symmetric behavior with 3% Mn-doping and the leakage current density gradually increases with increasing temperature, which may be due to the movement of domain wall and oxygen vacancy. The dominant leakage current conduction mechanism is bulk-limited ohmic or interface-limited Schottky emission conduction within a wide temperature range. The results might be meaningful for further work on ferroelectric electrical devices with improved ferroelectric and dielectric properties.