Microstructural investigations of Y2O3 thin films deposited by laser ablation on MgO

Abstract

The epitaxial relationships and the microstructure of thin Y2O3 film, in situ grown by laser ablation at 700 °C under 0.5 mbar oxygen pressure on MgO substrate, are studied by X-ray and HRTEM investigations. X-ray φ-scanexperiments show that Y2O3 exhibits two different crystallographic growing directions and on (100) single-crystalline MgO substrate. The growing direction appears with four different epitaxial relationships where the Y2O3 in-plane direction is parallel to the in-plane direction of MgO. The growing direction appears with one epitaxial relationship, cube Y2O3 on cube MgO. The HRTEM experiments show the columnar aspect of the Y2O3 thin film. Both (111) and (100) Y2O3-oriented grains are observed in good agreement with the X-ray experiments.