Crystallization Kinetics of Sol-gel-derived (1x)SrBi2Ta2O9–xBi3TiTaO9 Ferroelectric Thin Films
The crystallization kinetics of Sr0.7Bi2.3Ta2O9 (SBT) and 0.7SrBi2Ta2O9–0.3Bi3TiTaO9 (SBT-BTT) thin films formed by the sol-gel and spin coating techniques were studied. Phase formation and crystal growth are greatly affected by the film composition and crystallization temperature. Isothermal kinetic analysis was performed on the x-ray diffraction results of the thin films heated in the range of 730 to 760 °C at 10 °C intervals. Activation energy and Avrami exponent values were determined for the fluorite-to-Aurivillus phase transformation. A reduction of approximately 51 kJ/mol in activation energy was observed for the SBT-BTT thin films, and an Avrami exponent value of approximately 1.0 was obtained for both the SBT and SBT-BTT. A comparison is made, and the possible crystallization mechanism is discussed.