TETRAGONAL ZIRCONIA GROWTH BY NANOLAMINATE FORMATION

Multilayer films of polycrystalline zirconia and amorphous alumina wer e grown by reactive sputter deposition and characterized using x-ray d iffraction and high resolution electron microscopy. We demonstrate tha t the layer spacing can be scaled to insure nanosize crystallites in t he zirconia layer. The result is that nanolaminates with a high volume fraction of retained tetragonal zirconia are produced, independent of deposition parameters and without the addition of a stabilizing dopan t.