Fabrication and Characterization of Ferroelectric $(Bi,Sm)_4Ti_3O_{12}$ Thin Films Prepared by Chemical Solution Deposition

Ferroelectric $Bi_{3.35}Sm_{0.65}Ti_3O_{12}(BST)$ thin films were deposited on $Pt(111)/Ti/SiO_2/Si(100)$ substrates by a sol-gel spin-coating process. In this experiments, $Bi(TMHD)_3$, $Sm_5(O^iPr)_{13}$, $Ti(O^iPr)_4$ were used as precursors, which were dissolved in 2-methoxyethanol. Thereafter, the thin films with the thickness, of 240nm were annealed from 600 to $720^{\circ}C$ in oxygen atmosphere for 1 hr, and post-annealed in oxygen atmosphere for 1 hr after deposition of Pt electrode to enhance the electrical properties. The remanent polarization and coercive voltage of the BST thin films annealed at $720^{\circ}C$ were $19.48\;{\mu}C/cm^2$ and 3.40 V, respectively, and a fatigue-free characteristics. As a result, Sm-substituted bismuth titanate films with good ferroelectric properties and excellent fatigue resistance are useful candidates for ferroelectric memory applications.