Orientation and microstructure of chemoepitaxial ZrO2 films

The orientation and microstructure of ZrO2 films produced by oxidizing oriented thin Zr films have been studied by transmission electron microscopy and high-energy electron diffraction. The results demonstrate that biaxial textures of the oxide are governed by the textures of the parent zirconium film. We have established a set of orientation relationships between the Zr and ZrO2 lattices. The nanocrystalline structure of the oxide is due to the fact that there are several equivalent orientations within one Zr grain (multiple-orientation chemoepitaxy). Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we detected twin boundaries, stacking faults, and intragranular dislocations.