Optical and dielectric properties of PbZrO3 thin films prepared by a sol–gel process for energy-storage application

PbZrO 3 thin films with (100) and (111) orientation were prepared by a simple sol–gel method. X-ray diffraction results revealed that post-annealing temperatures played an important role on the orientation of PbZrO 3 films. The frequency dependence of dielectric properties and the ferroelectric characteristics were measured. Giant energy-storage density and energy-storage efficiency calculated from hysteresis loops achieved about 25.25   J/cm 3 and 62% for PbZrO 3 film with thickness of 292   nm, respectively, results indicated that PbZrO 3 thin films had a potential application in energy-storage device. Optical properties of PbZrO 3 thin films were analyzed by a spectroscopic ellipsometer, results revealed that (111)-orientated PbZrO 3 thin films exhibited higher refractive index than that of the (100)-orientated PbZrO 3 thin films.