Chemical solution deposited lanthanum zirconium oxide thin films: Synthesis and chemistry

Pyrochlore lanthanum zirconium oxide (LZO) thin films textured along 〈4 0 0〉 are synthesized using lanthanum acetate hydrate, zirconium propoxide, propionic acid, acetic acid glacial, and methanol as precursors. The materials growth and chemistry are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The formation of inkjet printed LZO films on Ni-5%W tape is found to be based on the decomposition of the LZO precursor solution. In the annealing process, Zr metal–oxides bonds are first eliminated between 150 and 250 °C, while carboxylates from precursors remain in LZO after the annealing carried out at 900 °C for an hour. Annealed LZO films have dense and smooth structure that are composed of nanoparticles sizing 10–15 nm and some pinholes sizing 25–35 nm accounted for less than 0.1% of the area are observed.