Preparation of conductive LaNiO₃ film electrodes by a simple chemical solution deposition technique for integrated ferroelectric thin film devices

Well-crystallized LaNiO₃ (LNO) thin films were grown on thermally oxidized silicon (SiO₂/Si) and SrTiO₃ substrates by a simple chemical solution deposition (CSD) technique. The LNO thin films obtained had pseudocubic phase without the existence of impurity phase. The LNO films on SiO₂/Si substrates were polycrystalline, dense, and randomly oriented with a uniform surface and cross-section, whereas those on SrTiO₃ substrates were (100) highly oriented with uniform grain size. The room temperature resistivity of the films on SiO₂/Si substrates annealed at 750°C was about 0.54 mΩ cm, which is much lower than that of the films derived by the water-based solution technique. The subsequent deposition and electrical measurements of PbTiO₃, (Pb,La)TiO₃, Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ thin films on the CSD derived LNO/SiO₂/Si confirmed the LNO films to be promising electrode materials for ferroelectric thin films.