STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LaCoO3 THIN FILMS GROWN BY PULSED LASER DEPOSITION

Thin films of crystallized LaCoO3 were grown on Si substrate by Pulsed Laser Deposition at different temperatures (750 degrees C, 850 degrees C and 1000 degrees C). The structural characterization of the LaCoO3 thin films was done by combining several techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD). The thin films crystallized in the expected rhombohedral phase whatever the deposition temperature, with an increase of crystallite size from 70 nm at 750 degrees C to 100 nm at 1000 degrees C, and an average thickness of the thin films of less than 200 nm. At 850 degrees C and 1000 degrees C, the thin films are crack-free, and with a lower number of droplets than the film deposited at 750 degrees C. The grains of LaCoO3 film deposited at 850 degrees C are columnar, with a triangular termination. At 1000 degrees C, an intermediate layer of La2Si2O7 was observed, indicating diffusion of Si into the deposited film.