STUDY OF THE EPITAXIAL-GROWTH OF CEO2(001) ON YTTRIA-STABILIZED ZIRCONIA SI(001)/

Thin CeO2 films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition on Si(0 0 1 ) with yttria-stabilized zirconia buffer layers. The influence of subs trate temperature (20-800 degrees C), oxygen pressure (10(-5)-1 mbar), and laser repetition rate (1-20 Hz) on the CeO2 crystal and surface q uality has been investigated. For an oxygen pressure lower than 10(-2) mbar, the CeO2 film grows epitaxially in full temperature range, high -quality epitaxial films were deposited even at room temperature. The out-of-plane CeO2 lattice parameter decreased as the substrate tempera ture increased, but no dependence on oxygen pressure has been observed . Rocking curve value of CeO2(0 0 2) showed a weak dependence on the o xygen pressure within the range from 10(-5) to 10(-2) mbar, decreasing when the substrate temperature increases. The crystal quality of CeO2 layers deposited at 100 degrees C decreased as the laser repetition r ate increased, but increased with higher repetition rate for depositio n at 800 degrees C. Smooth, featureless surfaces were observed for all the temperatures studied and for oxygen pressure lower than 10(-2) mb ar. The study of the deposition on a wide range of technological param eters showed reproducible growth of the CeO2 thin films of excellent c rystal and surface quality on Si(0 0 1). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V . All rights reserved.