Pulsed laser deposition of highly conductive iridium oxide thin films

Highly conductive IrO2 thin films have been deposited on Si (100) substrates by means of pulsed laser ablation of iridium metal target in an oxygen ambient pressure of 200 mTorr. IrO2 films grown at substrate temperatures in the 400-550 degrees C range are polycrystalline with a preponderant (101) IrO2 reflection and exhibit a dense granular morphology. Their room-temperature resistivities are very comparable to that of bulk single-crystal IrO2. IrO2 thin films with a resistivity of (39+/-4) mu Omega cm are obtained at a substrate temperature as low as 400 degrees C. The dependence of IrO2 films properties on the nature and/or the preparation of their underlying substrates is pointed out. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.