High-speed deposition of tetragonal-ZrO2-dispersed SiO2 nanocomposite films by laser chemical vapor deposition

•Tetragonal ZrO2 nanoparticle dispersed amorphous SiO2 composite films were prepared by laser CVD.•t-ZrO2 nanoparticles formed a dendritic structure in SiO2 matrix at a low temperature.•t-ZrO2 nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed in SiO2 matrix at a high temperature.•Deposition rates were 40–300 μm h−1.

Tetragonal-ZrO2 (t-ZrO2)-dispersed amorphous SiO2 composite films were prepared by laser chemical vapor deposition at high deposition rates of 40–300 μm h−1. Without SiO2 the films prepared at deposition temperatures of 869–1246 K contained monoclinic ZrO2. ZrO2 was stabilized in its tetragonal phase in an amorphous SiO2 matrix at deposition temperatures of 867–1170 K. The t-ZrO2 particle size decreased from 21 to 11 nm with increasing deposition temperature. In the amorphous SiO2 matrix, t-ZrO2 nanoparticles formed a network structure at lower deposition temperatures, whereas the t-ZrO2 nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed at higher deposition temperatures.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide