PbTiO₃ thin films are an important class of materials for sensor and actuator applications in microsystems technology due to their excellent ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. Use of sol-gel technology for production of these films has a number of advantages, such as fine control over stechiometry and microstructure, cost-effectiveness, relatively low processing temperature, possibility to coat large areas, and reproducibility of parameters.
In this work the microstructure and piezoelectric properties of nanostructured PbTiO₃ thin films was investigated in order to determine the optimal processing conditions for specific applications. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopies were used to investigate surface structure, and Doppler laser vibrometry and piezoresponse atomic force microscopy were employed to characterize macroscopic and localized piezoelectric properties of the films. It was found that Sm doped films have smooth microstructure (RMS roughness ranging from 1.26 nm for PSZT (Pb_1.0175Sm_0.05(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48) film to 2.05 nm for PST/PSZT heterostructure) and stable properties, but low piezoelectric coefficient (d₃₃=10-15 pm/V). Corona poling increased the piezocoefficient of these films by a factor of 4. PZT (PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ film has a high piezoelectric coefficient (up to 1 nm/V), however is susceptible to fatigue and other aging effects. Piezoresponse AFM has been used to obtain piezoelectric hysteresis loops and write and read areas of alternate polarization in the films.

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