Formation of highly oriented layer-structured Er2SiO5 films by pulsed laser deposition

Highly oriented layer-structured erbium monosilicate (Er2SiO5) films have been formed by the pulsed laser deposition technique. Er and Si are alternately deposited in a oxygen atmosphere on Si substrates by computer-controlled deposition so that the ratio of Er and Si becomes 2:1 and one cycle of Er-Si-O layer becomes about 0.86 nm thickness which is the period of highly oriented crystalline Er2SiO5 films obtained in our laboratory. Crystalline Er2SiO5 films up to about 100 nm thickness with a high orientation were successfully formed after deposition of 100 stacks of Er-Si-O layers and post-deposition annealing above ∼1100 °C. The achievement of fabricating these thick and highly oriented crystalline Er2SiO5 films is due to the controlled Er, Si and O ratio and a quasi-layered structure of the as-deposited films in which self-organization can be attained by short migrations of each element during the high-temperature annealing.