Control of CeO2 growth by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition with a special source evaporator

Abstract Epitaxial CeO 2 thin films have been grown on (100) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and (1102) sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using a new evaporation apparatus for source delivery. A parametric study of the evaporator was performed. The substrate temperature effects on crystallinity, indashplane orientation and surface morphology were investigated. The X-ray diffraction data shows the CeO 2 films are (100) oriented grown on YSZ substrates when T s ranges from 650–750° C. However on r-plane sapphire substrates, both the (100) and (111) oriented CeO 2 growth are present as evidenced by X-ray diffraction. The peak intensity ratio of (111) (100) decreased from 75% to 15% when the substrate temperature was increased from 650° C to 700° C. With the use of the new evaporation apparatus, a high deposition rate of 440 A/min was achieved with a deposition efficiency of 46%. The YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x films grown on CeO 2 YSZ and bare-YSZ substrate were compared to demonstrate that the CeO 2 films grown by the new MOCVD process are a good buffer for YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x film deposition on YSZ substrates.