We investigated the initial and epitaxial growth stage of Y2O3/Si(100) grown by reactive ionized cluster beam deposition, using x-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscope, and reflection high-energy electron diffraction. We also investigated the crystalline structure of the films using transmission electron microscopy and XRD. The preferred growth direction of Y2O3 grown by an ion beam changed completely from the 〈111〉 to the 〈110〉 orientation in order to minimize the overall energy of the film as the substrate temperature increased. In addition to the kinetic energy of the deposited atoms, oxygen partial pressure and the substrate surface state also bear a relationship to the change in the preferred growth direction. The crystalline growth of Y2O3 film depends on the state of the surface at the initial growth stage, whether the Si surface was first exposed to oxygen or yttrium. In particular, the silicon oxide layer which formed on the Si surface during the initial growth stage played an important role in the epitaxial growth as well as the preferred growth direction of Y2O3 film.

Heteroepitaxial growth behavior of SrRuO 3 / SrTiO 3 (001) by pulsed laser depositionHeteroepitaxial Y 2 O 3 films were grown on an Si͑111͒ substrate by ion assisted evaporation in an ultrahigh vacuum, and their properties such as crystallinity, film stress, and morphological change were investigated using the various measurement methods. The crystallinity was assessed by x-ray diffraction ͑XRD͒ and reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Interface crystallinity was also examined by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy ͑RBS͒ channeling and transmission electron microscopy. The strain of the films was measured by RBS channeling and XRD. Surface and interface morphological characteristics were observed by atomic force microscopy and x-ray scattering method. By comparing the interface with the surface characteristics, we can conclude that many defects at the interface region were generated by interface interaction between the yttrium metal and Si substrate. Moreover, the film quality dominantly depended on the deposition temperature. The crystallinity was greatly improved and the surface roughness was drastically decreased in the temperature range 500-600°C. On the other hand, in the temperature range 600-700°C, the compressive stress and film density were further increased, and the island size decreased. Also, the shape of the surface islands was transformed from elliptical to triangular. The film stress was found primarily at the interface area because of the interaction between yttrium and Si substrate.