Samarium doped cerium oxide thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Samarium doped ceria thin films are an important material for the electrochemical devices. Fluorite structured Samarium Doped Cerium Oxide (SDC) thin films were deposited on Si (100) at 500 degrees C and 600 degrees C substrate temperatures by PLD (Pulsed Laser Deposition) from Sm0,24 Ce0,13 O0.63 target. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) proved the existence of SDC crystalline compound in both samples, deposited at 500 and 600 degrees C but not in the target. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) investigations revealed a high quality of the films, with lower roughness, of under 5 nm in the case of the sample deposited at 600 degrees C. The beginning of sintering process was evidenced by SEM in the case of samples deposited at 600 degrees C. X-ray Photoelectron Spec-troscopy (XPS) indicated the increasing proportion of Ce3+ for PLD films comparatively to the target, in both cases, of substrate temperatures of 500 and of 600 degrees C, higher in the first case. Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) investigation permitted the calculation of a refractive index under 2.2 in the visible (Vis)-near infrared (near-IR) domain for both samples. Nanoindentation tribometric measurements concluded that both elasticity modulus and hardness decreases with substrate temperature increasing. The obtained films are candidates for potential uses as electrolyte material for a new generation of electrochemical devices.