X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Characterization of Nitrogen-Incorporated Yttria Films Deposited by Reactive Sputtering

In this paper, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been applied to characterize the N incorporated yttria films. Three different chemical states for the incorporated nitrogen have been found in the samples deposited by reactive sputtering. The thickness of the interface layer has been estimated by XPS analyses. The shrinking of the interface layer has been found in the N-incorporated sample, for which the degradation of O-2 oxidation and diffusion of nitrogen would be responsible. The least valence band offset has been observed for the highest N-contained sample, which is ascribed to the mixing of N 2p and O 2p.