Dielectric and Optical Properties of Perovskite-type Artificial Superlattices

<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>BaTiO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>/SrTiO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>, BaTiO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>/BaZrO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>, and SrZrO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>/SrTiO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> artificial superlattices were fabricated on SrTiO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> substrates by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) process. The stacking periodicity of each layer was varied from 1 unit cell to 40 unit cells, and the total thickness was fixed at 80 unit cells. In-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) clearly shows the formation of the superlattice structure. Their lattice parameters obtained from the reciprocal space mapping measurement indicated that the lattice distortion was dependent on the stacking periodicity. The capacitance and the complex admittance of the superlattices were measured with interdigital electrodes by an impedance analyzer up to 110 MHz. It was found that the dielectric permittivity changed with the superlattice periodicity. The Q-V measurement results showed clear hysteresis curves and this suggested that ferroelectricity was induced into the SrZrO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>/SrTiO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub> superlattices despite a combination between paraelectrics/paraelectrics.</jats:p>