Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Optical properties and thermal properties of self-polarized thin PZT films were determined by variable angle spectral ellipsometry and by the AC hot strip method, respectively. Analyzing the temperature dependencies of the optical gap and the specific heat, evidence of two not as yet observed phase transitions in the ferroelectric was provided. The origin of these phase transitions was attributed to film stress caused by substrate/PZT thin film lattice mismatch and to the presence of a negative space charge layer in the PZT film at the bottom electrode/PZT interface.