Synthesis, Giant Dielectric, and Pyroelectric Response of [001]-Oriented Pr(3+) Doped Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) Ferroelectric Nano-Films Grown on Si Substrates

The [001]-oriented Pr(3+) doped Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-0.30PbTiO(3) (Pr-PMN-PT) thin films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) were synthesized by a sol–gel method. The crystal structure was characterized using X-ray diffraction. It was found that a single perovskite phase was achieved in Pr-PMN-PT thin films annealed at 650 °C for 3 min. The dielectric constant (ε(r)) value was 2400 in 2.5% Pr-PMN-PT thin films at room temperature, 110% higher than that of pure PMN-PT samples. Through 2.5% Pr(3+) doping, remanent polarization (P(r)) and coercive field (E(c)) values increased from 11.5 μC/cm(2) and 35 kV/cm to 17.3 μC/cm(2) and 63.5 kV/cm, respectively, in PMN-PT thin films. The leakage current densities of pure and 2.5% Pr-PMN-PT thin films were on the order of 1.24 × 10(−4) A/cm(2) and 5.8 × 10(−5) A/cm(2), respectively, at 100 kV/cm. A high pyroelectric coefficient (p(y)) with a value of 167 μC/m(2)K was obtained in 2.5% Pr-PMN-PT thin films on Si substrate, which makes this material suitable for application in infrared detectors.