Structural and morphological characterisation of heteroepitaxial CeO2 films grown on YSZ (100) and TiO2 (001) by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition

We report on the deposition of <100> CeO2 buffer layers by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) on TiO2(001) and YSZ(100) substrates from Ce(111) 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionato diglyme adduct (Ce(hfa)(3).diglyme). X-ray diffraction techniques (theta-2theta, omega-scans, pole figures) have been used to determine out-of-plane and in-plane alignments of CeO2 films. Films on both YSZ(100) and TiO2 (001) are <100> oriented beyond 450 degreesC deposition temperatures. Rocking curve full width half maximum (FWHM) values and pole figure patterns point to good out-of-plane and in-plane alignments. Epitaxial growth on rutile substrate is obtained below 750 degreesC. Morphological characterisation indicates smooth and homogeneous surfaces.