Impact of crystallisation processes on depth profile formation in sol–gel PbZr 0·52 Ti 0·48 O 3 thin films

This study revealed the influence of crystallisation processes on the homogeneity of the sol–gel PbZr_0·52Ti_0·48O₃ thin films, allowing identification and further optimisation of thin film performance. Crystallisation processes determine the optical gradient appearance, irrespective of the chemical solvents used in this work. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that a refractive index gradient was apparent in the samples which had dominant (001)/(100) orientation and significant change of lattice parameters with thickness.