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.