Stress and moisture-sorption in ozone-annealed films of zirconium oxide obtained from sol-gel

The stress development in zirconium oxide films prepared by sol-gel and annealed under ozone-enriched oxygen has been investigated. The organic compounds are mostly oxidized at 200°C with ozone and the stress rises up to higher values than the stress in films annealed with pure oxygen between 200 to 400°C. During exposure to humid air of films annealed at 150°C under pure or ozone-enriched oxygen chemical transformations of organic compounds have been observed. The moisture-induced stress change during film exposure to the ambient air also has been investigated. The competition between hydration of ZrO2, H-bound formation, surface ionization and capillary condensation mechanisms is discussed.