  In this work we investigate the influence of the use of YSZ and CeO2/YSZ as
insulators for Metal- Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor (MFIS) structures
made with SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT). We show that by using YSZ only the a-axis oriented
Pyrochlore phase could be obtained. On the other hand the use of a CeO2/YSZ
double-buffer layer gave a c-axis oriented SBT with no amorphous SiO2 inter-
diffusion layer. The characteristics of MFIS diodes were greatly improved by
the use of the double buffer. Using the same deposition conditions the memory
window could be increased from 0.3 V to 0.9 V. From the piezoelectric response,
nano-meter scale ferroelectric domains could be clearly identified in SBT thin
films.
