THE EPITAXIAL-GROWTH OF ZIRCONIUM-OXIDE THIN-FILMS ON PT(111) SINGLE-CRYSTAL SURFACES

Zirconium oxide films were deposited onto a Pt(111) surface by resistively heating a Zr were under oxidative conditions. The composition and structure of the surface was determined by AES, ISS, XPS and LEED. Below 700 K, the growth of the oxide films is two-dimensional up to the completion of a monolayer. Zr is in the 3+ oxidation state. Upon brief annealing above 900 K in oxidative conditions, ordered ZrO2 films are formed with the fcc structure of bulk ZrO2. The (111) planes of the ZrO2 films grow parallel to the (111) substrate plane. Multilayer ordered films can be grown with a thickness of at least 7 monolayers, although with a substantial amount of defects. Upon extensive annealing above 1100 K in oxidative conditions, a different ordered structure is produced which is the result of the reduction and dissolution of the oxide films into the Pt substrate. It is related to the structure of the interface between the zirconium oxide films and the Pt substrate. © 1990.