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(III) 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionato diglyme adduct (Ce(hfa)3·diglyme). X-ray diffraction techniques (θ–2θ, ω-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 °C 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 °C. Morphological characterisation indicates smooth and homogeneous surfaces.