Thermally induced phase transformation and structural modifications of E-beam evaporated zirconia thin films

Abstract

ABSTRACT The homogeneous zirconia thin films having a thickness of 250 nm synthesized on silicon substrate using an e-beam deposition technique and annealed in the temperature range of 600–1000°C have been investigated for phase transformations of zirconia. It has been observed from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and the Raman spectroscopy that phase transformation from cubic phase to monoclinic phase of zirconia occurred in the temperature range 600–800°C, despite the amorphous nature of deposited films. From Rietveld refinement studies, it has been found that crystalline phase in zirconia films annealed at 600°C, is cubic in nature. Further, the morphological studies revealed that the grain size of zirconia increases with an increase in the annealing temperature. It is expected that the present studies on structural and morphological properties of zirconia having an emphasis on its cubic phase stabilization shall help to explore its possibility in device applications.