In recent times antiferroelectric thin-film material compositions have been identified as one of the most significant thin films for development of devices such as high charge storage, charge couplers/decouplers, and high strain microelectromechanical systems. Thus, understanding the dielectric and electrical properties under an ac signal drive in these antiferroelectric thin-film compositions, such as lead zirconate thin films, and the effect of donor doping on them is very necessary. For this purpose, thin films of antiferroelectric lead zirconate and La-modified lead zirconate thin films with mole % concentrations of 0, 3, 5, and 9 have been deposited by pulsed excimer laser ablation. The dielectric and hysteresis properties have confirmed that with a gradual increase of the La content, the room-temperature antiferroelectric lead zirconate thin films can be modified into ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. ac electrical studies revealed that the polaronic related hopping conduction is responsible for the charge transport phenomenon in these films. With a La content of ⩽3 mole % in pure lead zirconate, the conductivity of the films has been reduced and followed by an increase of its conductivity for a ⩾3% addition of La to lead zirconate thin films. The polaronic activation energies are also found to follow a similar trend as that of the conductivity.

• Received 7 June 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.65.174106