Properties of La and Nb-modified PZT thin films grown by radio frequency assisted pulsed laser deposition

Lead zirconate titanate ferroelectric thin films added with La and Nb has been grown by radio frequency assisted pulsed laser deposition on Pt/Si, starting from sintered targets. The dielectric properties were measured in a large frequency range and their dependence on the a.c. driving field amplitude has been investigated. A linear decreasing of the dielectric permittivity with frequency logarithm increasing has been evidenced. The most important factor for the driving field amplitude influence on the dielectric properties is the type of vacancies introduced by La and Nb substitutions, which indicates that the dynamics involved in a.c. field behavior is controlled by interaction mechanisms between ferroelectric domain or nanodomain walls and pinning (vacancies) centers.