Mechanism of Biaxial Alignment of Oxide Thin Films during Ion‐Beam‐Assisted Deposition

Abstract

The mechanism of biaxial alignment was examined for yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and La 1−x Ca x MnO 3 (LCMO) films that were fabricated by ion‐beam‐assisted deposition (IBAD). Films that were deposited with both dual‐ion‐beam deposition and ion‐assisted electron‐beam evaporation were studied. The film texture formation was mostly dependent on the ratio of ion bombardment to molecule arrival and on the angle of the incident ions with respect to the substrate. Results were not dependent on the deposition technique. The observed IBAD YSZ and IBAD LCMO biaxial alignment did not occur because of ion channeling. It has been shown that the preferred film orientation develops because of anisotropy of ion‐induced damage on various crystal surfaces.