The development of biaxial alignment in yttria-stabilized zirconia films fabricated by ion beam assisted deposition

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films were deposited using ion assisted, electron beam deposition (IBAD) on Pyrex, quartz, Hastelloy, and polycrystalline zirconia substrates. Film orientation was studied as a function of IBAD fabrication conditions. Film texture from several populations of biaxially aligned grains has been observed. The ion beam is shown to induce biaxial alignment of all grain orientations. Specifically, grains with (200), (311), and (111) normal to the substrate surface are biaxially aligned. The ion beam induces biaxial alignment at all angles of incidence, not just those corresponding to YSZ channeling directions. The development of (200) biaxial alignment on Pyrex is examined as a function of thickness. Biaxially aligned IBAD YSZ films were deposited on amorphous and polycrystalline substrates without active heating. Biaxial alignment development with IBAD is shown to be consistent with a previously proposed growth and extinction model.