Abstract

Plasma-assisted pulsed laser deposited zirconia (ZrO₂) films were studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy for structural characterization and thermal stability in combination with optical characterization by spectroscopic ellipsometry and optical transmission measurements. Only the monoclinic ZrO₂ phase was positively identified from the infrared and Raman spectra of the as-deposited ZrO₂ films, which show excellent optical transparency from the ultraviolet to the near infrared as revealed by optical characterization. The as-deposited ZrO₂ films are free of any SiO_x interfacial layer when deposited on silicon. The prepared ZrO₂ films exhibit good thermal stability in their structural, optical, and interfacial properties up to 900 °C. Upon annealing above 1100 °C, a silicon oxide interfacial layer forms due to the oxidation of the silicon substrate surface by the oxygen diffused from the oxide film to the silicon substrate at high temperatures.

Porosity and optical properties of zirconia films prepared by plasma ion assisted deposition

C. Franke, O. Stenzel, S. Wilbrandt, S. Schröder, L. Coriand, N. Felde, and A. Tünnermann
Appl. Opt. 56(13) 3913-3922 (2017)

Optical and interfacial layer properties of SiO₂ films deposited on different substrates

Yugang Jiang, Huasong Liu, Lishuan Wang, Dandan Liu, Chenghui Jiang, Xinbin Cheng, Yaping Yang, and Yiqin Ji
Appl. Opt. 53(4) A83-A87 (2014)

EXAFS studies on Gd-doped ZrO₂ thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

S. Maidul Haque, S. Tripathi, S. N. Jha, D. Bhattacharyya, and N. K. Sahoo
Appl. Opt. 55(26) 7355-7364 (2016)

Optical characterization of the impact of 100  keV protons on the optical properties of ZrO₂ films prepared by ALD on fused silica substrates

A. Sytchkova, M. L. Protopapa, P. Olivero, L. Tapfer, E. Burresi, T. Dunatov, Z. Siketić, M. Palmisano, E. Pesce, Y. Wang, Z. Wang, and H. He
Appl. Opt. 62(7) B182-B187 (2023)

Optical inhomogeneity and microstructure of ZrO₂ thin films prepared by ion-assisted deposition

Hyun Ju Cho and Chang Kwon Hwangbo
Appl. Opt. 35(28) 5545-5552 (1996)