Olasz D, Kis V, Cora I, Németh M, Sáfrán G. High-Throughput Micro-Combinatorial TEM Phase Mapping of the DC Magnetron Sputtered Y
xTi
1-xO
y Thin Layer System.
NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024;
14:925. [PMID:
38869550 PMCID:
PMC11173872 DOI:
10.3390/nano14110925]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2024] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
High-throughput methods are extremely important in today's materials science, especially in the case of thin film characterization. The micro-combinatorial method enables the deposition and characterization of entire multicomponent thin film systems within a single sample. In this paper, we report the application of this method for the comprehensive TEM characterization of the Y-Ti-O layer system. Variable composition samples (YxTi1-xOy) were prepared by dual DC magnetron sputtering, covering the entire (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) concentration range. The structure and morphology of phases formed in both as-deposited and annealed samples at 600, 700, and 800 °C were revealed as a function of Y-Ti composition (x). A comprehensive map showing the appropriate amorphous and crystalline phases, and their occurrence regions of the whole Y-Ti-O layer system, was revealed. Thanks to the applied method, it was shown with ease that at the given experimental conditions, the Y2Ti2O7 phase with a pyrochlore structure forms already at 700 °C without the TiO2 and Y2O3 by-phases, which is remarkably lower than the required temperature for most physical preparation methods, demonstrating the importance and benefits of creating phase maps in materials science and technology.
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