Nonlinear optical diagnostics of local crystallization of lead zirconate titanate films using femtosecond laser radiation

Features of crystallization of microstructures to the perovskite-like phase in a lead zirconate titanate film are studied using multiple near-IR femtosecond laser pulse radiation. The kinetics of crystallization is in situ investigated using the second-harmonic generation technique. It is established that the crystallization is divided into high-temperature ultrafast (explosive) crystallization, which occurs right after the start of irradiation, and low-temperature slow (self-induced) crystallization, which starts after termination of irradiation of a strained multilayer structure. The advantages of the second-harmonic generation microscopy in studying annealed microstructures are demonstrated.