CHARACTERIZATION OF Y2O3-STABILIZED ZRO2 THIN-FILMS BY PLASMA-ENHANCED METALLOORGANIC CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films were deposited on (100) silicon wafers by a plasma-enhanced metallorganic chemical vapor deposition (PEMOCVD) process involving the application of vapor mixtures of bisdipivaloylmethanato yttrium, zirconium tetra-t-butoxide, and oxygen. From the x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results, the as-deposited YSZ films were found to be a single cubic phase and the preferred orientation of (100). Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analyses were performed to determine the Y2O3 mole percentage in YSZ films and this result was compared with that obtained by Aleksandrov model using the lattice constant by x-ray diffraction. The Y2O3 mole percentage in YSZ films obtained by AES and RBS showed a great deviation from those predicted by the Aleksandrov model.