Characteristics of ultraviolet-assisted pulsed-laser-deposited Y2O3 thin films

The properties of thin Y2O3 films grown using an in situ ultraviolet (UV)-assisted pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique were studied. With respect to Y2O3 films grown by conventional PLD under similar conditions but without UV illumination, the UVPLD-grown films exhibited better structural and optical properties, especially for lower substrate temperatures, from 340 to 400 °C. These layers were highly crystalline and textured along the (111) direction, and their refractive index values were similar to those of reference Y2O3 layers. They also exhibited a better stoichiometry and contained less physisorbed oxygen than the conventional PLD-grown layers.