Structure and stability of cub-Pr2O3 films on Si(111) under post deposition annealing conditions

Abstract

Ultra thin heteroepitaxial Pr2O3 films on Si(111) were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray reflectometry to determine the film and interface structure. These results exhibit two oxide phases within the praseodymia film after preparation which can be assigned to different oxygen stoichiometries. After post deposition annealing of the films at different temperatures up to 600 °C the surface was studied by spot profile analysis low energy electron diffraction, with regard to the stability of the film surface. The results show that terraces with mono-atomic step heights and mosaics can be found at the film surfaces after annealing at 300 °C. Higher annealing temperatures do not cause further changes of structure and morphology except of a slight increase of the mosaic spread due to lateral strain effects within the oxide film. These results indicate that the films are stable at temperatures as high as 600 °C. © 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.