Thin films of phase pure pyrochlore Gd2Ti2O7 have been synthesized by RFmagnetron sputtering. The films were prepared from oxide targets in 50%O2/Aratmosphere and deposited on 111 YSZ substrates at a temperature of 800C. Thepyrochlore structure was confirmed via grazing angle x-ray diffraction andselected area electron diffraction (SAED). TEM analysis also showed that thefilms were dense and of uniform thickness with surface roughness ofapproximately 8nm. The total conductivity measured with AC impedancespectroscopy was found to be independent of thickness and comparable inmagnitude to that of bulk Gd2Ti2O7. Differences were observed in the Arrheniusbehavior between the bulk and thin film samples and are attributed to varyinglevels of background impurities.
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