N.S. Zhukova1, A.Е. Ganzha2, М.А. Knyazeva3, N.А. Arkhipov4, А.V. Filimonov5, А.S. Goltaev6, А.V. Pavlenko7, R.G. Burkovsky8

1-5,8 Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (St. Petersburg, Russia)

6 Alferov University (St. Petersburg, Russia)

7 Research Institute of Physics Southern Federal University (Rostov-on-Don, Russia)

1 zhukovaaa3781@gmail.com; 2 alexander.ganzha@gmail.com; 3 kniazeva.maria225@yandex.ru; 4 nick10arkh@mail.ru; 5 filalex@inbox.ru; 6 goltaev@goltaev.ru; 7 tolik_260686@mail.ru; 8 roman.burkovsky@gmail.com

Antiferroelectric (AFE) materials are gaining increasing popularity in the field of microelectronics. Modern works show that thin-film AFEs are of particular interest. Currently, such structures are synthesized by laboratory methods, such as PLD, MBE, etc. Such methods show good results for scientific research, but the high-frequency cathode sputtering method is much more suitable for industrial production. The disadvantage of this method is the impossibility of creating stoichiometrically complex compounds, which can become a problem for the synthesis of AFE thin-film with a very complex perovskite structure.

The article presents the results of assessing the applicability of the high-frequency cathode sputtering method for the synthesis of thin films of lead-containing perovskites in an oxygen environment. Films with a chemical composition corresponding to PbHfO3 were grown on Si(001) and SrRuO3/SrTiO3/MgO(001) substrates. A detailed characterization of the obtained structures was performed using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis, scanning electron microscopy. It was shown that the method allows one to successfully synthesize both polycrystalline and single-crystal epitaxial thin (tens of nanometers) films with a smooth surface (protrusions of the order of 10-20 nm). It was also found that the ordering in the single-crystal film differs in lattice parameters from that possible for both perovskite PbHfO3 and all configurations of lead and hafnium oxides, which allows us to conclude that a new, previously unobserved phase is formed. We show that this phase exhibits unusual properties, which makes it a promising object for further research. The results of the work emphasize the potential of the high-frequency cathode sputtering method as an alternative approach for the synthesis of complex oxide films, and the subsequent study of the discovered new phase is of great scientific interest due to the possibility of its application as a component in thin-film heterostructures based on PbHfO3 in the antiferroelectric phase, which are promising for microelectronics.

Zhukova N.S., Ganzha A.E., Knyazeva M.A., Arkhipov N.A., Filimonov A.V., Goltaev A.S., Pavlenko A.V., Burkovsky R.G. RF cathode sputtering in an oxygen environment: prospects for the synthesis of lead-containing perovskite films for the radio engineering component base. Radiotekhnika. 2025. V. 89. № 3. P. 135−142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j00338486-202503-12 (In Russian)

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