Oriented growth of thin films of samarium oxide by MOCVD

摘要

Thin films of Sm_2O_3 have been grown on Si(100) and fused quartz by low-pressure chemical vapour deposition using an adducted beta-diketonate precursor. The films on quartz are cubic, with no preferred orientation at lower growth temperatures (approx 550 deg C), while they grow with a strong (111) orientation as the temperature is raised (to 625 deg C). On Si(100), highly oriented films of cubic Sm_2O_3 at 625 deg C, and a mixture of monoclinic and cubic polymorphs of Sm_2O_3 at higher temperatures, are formed. Films grown on either substrate are very smooth and fine-grained. Infrared spectroscopic study reveals that films grown above 600 deg C are free of carbon.