Microstructure and texture evolution in oxide films prepared by ion-beam assisted laser deposition

Using Ion-Beam Assisted Laser Deposition (IBALD), biaxially oriented films of Yttria stabilized Zirconia were deposited on polycrystalline and amorphous substrates. The film texture in dependence of deposition parameters was examined with X-ray texture analysis. As deposited films were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. All films showed a columnar film growth structure. The diameter of the columns increased with film thickness and could be related to the film in-plane orientation. The nucleation process was found to be polycrystalline and independent of the ion-beam assistance. At an early growth stage, a growth structure of [001] oriented columns emerges from the randomly oriented crystallites. The film in-plane texture forms in a competition of [001] oriented columns, where columns oriented with their [111] axis parallel to the impinging ion-beam dominate the film texture. The out-of plane growth orientation was found to depend on substrate temperature and laser energy density, while the ion-beam affects mainly the in-plane orientation.