Novel film growth technique of single crystalline In2O3(ZnO)m (m = integer) homologous compound

Single crystalline thin films of ln(2)O(3)(ZnO)(5) were grown by a novel solid state diffusion technique using a ZnO epitaxial layer as solid template. Crystal quality of the film was evaluated by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Multilayered films composed of amorphous In2O3(ZnO)(4) and epitaxial ZnO were grown on (111) yttrium-stabilized-zirconia (YSZ) by a pulsed-laser-deposition method, followed by annealing the films fully covered by YSZ plate at 1450 degreesC in air. HR-XRD measurement revealed In2O3(ZnO)(5) to be a single crystalline film. Sharp diffraction peaks of (0001) due to superlattices were seen in the out-of-plane HR-XRD pattern. Out-of-plane and in-plane orientations of the film and the substrate were In2O3(ZnO)(5) (0001)//YSZ (111) and In2O3(ZnO)(5) (11 (2) over bar0)//YSZ(1 (1) over bar0), respectively Step and terrace structure was clearly observed in an AFM image of the In2O3(ZnO)(5) film. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.