Effect of oxygen partial pressure during pulsed laser deposition on the orientation of CeO2 thin films grown on (100) silicon

Abstract

The effect of oxygen partial pressure on the preferred orientation of CeO2 thin films was investigated by depositing CeO2 thin films and Pb(Zr, Ti)O3/CeO2 multilayers on Si (100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. CeO2 thin films exhibited random polycrystalline grain structures at high oxygen partial pressure (≥40 mtorr), a result that is contrary to previous reports. The relationship of the preferred orientations observed between Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 films and the CeO2 layer underneath confirmed that random polycrystalline CeO2 was obtained at high oxygen partial pressure. It was suggested that x-ray diffraction data in previous reports might have been misinterpreted.