Orientation and microstructure of chemoepitaxial ZrO2 films

The orientation and microstructure of ZrO 2 films produced by oxidizing oriented thin Zr films have been studied by transmission electron microscopy and high-energy electron diffraction. The results demonstrate that biaxial textures of the oxide are governed by the textures of the parent zirconium film. We have established a set of orientation relationships between the Zr and ZrO 2 lattices. The nanocrystalline structure of the oxide is due to the fact that there are several equivalent orientations within one Zr grain (multiple-orientation chemoepitaxy). Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we detected twin boundaries, stacking faults, and intragranular dislocations.