Heteroepitaxial Growth of CeO2(001) Films on Si(001) Substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition in Ultrahigh Vacuum

Abstract

Pulsed laser deposition in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) was applied to the epitaxial growth of CeO2 film on Si(001). Although the direct deposition of CeO2(001) on Si(001) was unsuccessful, the desired epitaxy was achieved by inserting the growth of a SrTiO3 layer. The formation of a CeO2(001)//SrTiO3(001)//Si(001) layered structure was verified by reflection high-energy electron diffraction analysis of the growing surface at a temperature between 650 and 700°C in UHV. In addition to lattice matching, chemical interaction at the growing surface had a decisive effect on the epitaxy and orientation of growing ceramic lattices.