Low energy ion beam assisted deposition of biaxially aligned YSZ and CeO2/YSZ films on r-plane sapphire

(001) oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and CeO2/YSZ multilayer fil ms with high in-plane biaxial texture have been deposited on an r-plane sap phire substrate by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) at ambient temperatu re. The optimal in-plane texture, whose full width at half maximum (FWHM) o f X-ray (111) phi-scan peak were 15 degrees and 12 degrees for YSZ and CeO2 /YSZ films respectively, could be obtained. Monte Carlo simulation results suggest that the divergence of incident bombarding ion beam is expected to have strong influence on film in-plane biaxial texture. The effect of the c ollimation of incident bombarding ion beam on the formation of high in-plan e biaxial texture was demonstrated under certain IBAD conditions. The atomi c force microscope (AFM) images indicated that the small-grained, smooth an d continuous film structure of the CeO2 film is more favorable for the in-p lane biaxial texture development than the large-grained and rough structure of the YSZ film. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.