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Effect of Interface and Crystallinity on the Ferroelectric Properties of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-Trifluoroethylene) Copolymer Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Feng Xia
Affiliation:
Materials Research Laboratory and Department of Electric EngineeringThe Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, U.S.A.
H.S. Xu
Affiliation:
Materials Research Laboratory and Department of Electric EngineeringThe Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, U.S.A.
Babak Razavi
Affiliation:
Materials Research Laboratory and Department of Electric EngineeringThe Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, U.S.A.
Q. M. Zhang
Affiliation:
Materials Research Laboratory and Department of Electric EngineeringThe Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Ferroelectric polymer thin films are attractive for a wide range of applications such as MEMS, IR sensors, and memory devices. We present the results of a recent investigation on the thickness dependence of the ferroelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoridetrifluoroethylene) copolymer spin cast films on electroded Si substrate. We show that as the film thickness is reduced, there exist two thickness regions. For films at thickness above 100 nm, the thickness dependence of the ferroelectric properties can be attributed to the interface effect. However, for thinner films, there is a large change in the ferroelectric properties such as the polarization level, the coercive field, and polarization switching speed, which is related to the large drop of the crystallinity in the ultrathin film region (below 100 nm). The results from Xray, dielectric measurement, and AFM all indicate that there is a threshold thickness at about 100 nm below which the crystallinity in the film reduces abruptly.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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