Characterization of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films grown by planar magnetron sputtering

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films were grown on Si by rf magnetron sputtering. Sputtering gun was positioned at various angles to the substrate normal to change the amount of plasma bombardment on the as-deposited films. YSZ films grown by off-axis sputtering (90 degrees) are readily (200)-preferred orientated but the preferred orientation of the film is deteriorated when the growth angle is decreased and, consequently, plasma bombardment is increased due to the decreasing growth angles. The off-axis grown YSZ films exhibit atomically smooth interfaces, which are not observed for those films grown by on-axis sputtering. The variation of oxide charge with the growth angle is studied with the Al/YSZ/Si structure. The plasma bombardment plays an important role on the crystallinity and, therefore, the defect type of the films and is also considered to be responsible for the Si outdiffusion occurring in an on-axis grown film. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.