Sharath Rameshbabu, Daniele Pergolesi, Arnold Müller, Christof Vockenhuber, Amol V. Pansare, Thomas Lippert and Davide Bleiner;
Abstract:
Scalable and stoichiometrically controlled synthesis of epitaxial rare-earth oxide thin films is promising for advancing next-generation optoelectronic and quantum photonic technologies, including miniature X-ray laser systems. The growth of high-quality holmium oxide (Ho2O3) thin films on (001)-oriented yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) was investigated, employing both KrF excimer (248 nm) and frequency-doubled Nd:YAG (532 nm) laser sources. Detailed structural characterization using high-resolution X-ray diffraction and reciprocal space mapping confirms the formation of (00l)-oriented, relaxed epitaxial films with excellent crystallinity and lattice parameters closely matching bulk Ho2O3. The impact of laser wavelength on film quality and growth dynamics was investigated, revealing that the λ = 532 nm laser yields film quality comparable to that achieved with excimer-laser-grown films. Elemental analysis using oxygen-16 resonance Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) demonstrates precise control over the Ho:O stoichiometry under optimized deposition conditions. The successful use of both ultraviolet and visible laser sources highlights the versatility of PLD for rare-earth oxide film growth, while offering flexibility in equipment accessibility. This study establishes a scalable, tunable pathway for fabricating stoichiometric, epitaxial Ho2O3 thin films, with promising implications for X-ray nano-photonic devices.
Keywords: PLD; Nd:YAG; Thin Films; Ho2O3; RBS; X-ray Characterization; X-ray nano-photonics;
Facility: Thin Films and Interfaces; LMX (CNM); EMPA; Uni. Zurich, CEE
Reference: S. Rameshbabu et al. , Optical Materials 169, 117557 (2025)
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