The growth-temperature-dependent interface structure of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films grown on Si substrates

We report on the interface characteristics of yttria-stabilized zirconia films grown on silicon substrates. From x-ray reflectivity analysis we found that the film thickness and interface roughness decreased as the growth temperature increased, indicating that the growth mechanism varies and the chemical reaction is limited to the interface as the growth condition varies. Furthermore, the packing density of the film increased as the growth temperature increased and the film thickness decreased. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of very thin films revealed that the amount of chemical shift increased as the growth temperature increased. Intriguingly, the direction of the chemical shift of Zr was opposite to that of Si due to the second nearest neighbor interaction.