Studies of highly oriented CeO2 films grown on Si(111) by pulsed laser deposition

CeO2 is an interesting buffer layer material for the growth of YBa(2)Cu(3)O (7-)delta overlayers on Si in devices, with the aim of preventing heat-diff usion due to its excellent lattice matching with Si and YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-)del ta. Epitaxial CeO2-films have been synthesised on Si(lll) by pulsed laser d eposition. Stoichiometric changes of the CexOy-film depending on the ambien t oxygen pressure during the deposition were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A method is presented for growing a sharp interface between CeO2 and Si(111). The dependence of the inplane orientation of the CeO2 fil m on the substrate temperature was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The b est films, grown at 700 degrees C, showed full width at half maximum of the rocking curve close to 0.1 degrees, but already at room temperature very h ighly oriented films with less than 0.2 degrees were synthesised. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S,A. All rights reserved.