Nanocrystalline lanthanum oxyfluoride thin films by XPS

Nanocrystalline lanthanum oxyfluoride thin films were synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) using La(hfa)3?diglyme (hfa=1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionate; diglyme=bis(2-metoxyethyl)ether) as precursor compound. The coatings were deposited on Si(100) and commercial silica slides in nitrogen+wet oxygen atmospheres, at temperatures between 200 and 500°C, with particular attention to the structural and compositional evolution as function of the synthesis conditions and growth surface. The obtained samples were characterized by Glancing-Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD), Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), for a detailed determination of their microstructure, chemical composition and surface morphology. This work is dedicated to the XPS characterization of a representative LaOF thin film deposited on Si(100) at 500°C. Besides the wide scan spectrum, detailed spectra for the La3d, F1s, O1s and C1s regions and related data are presented and discussed. Both the F/La atomic ratio and La3d peak shape and position point out to the formation of stoichiometric LaOF thin films. Moreover, carbon contamination was merely limited to the outermost sample layers.