Analytical Sciences, Short Talk
AS-017

Analytical Characterization of Stoichiometric Ho2O3 Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

S. Rameshbabu1,2, D. Pergolesi3,4*, A. Müller5*, C. Vockenhuber5*, T. Lippert3,6*, D. Bleiner1,2*
1University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland, 2Swiss Federal Laboratories of Materials Science & Technology (Empa), Überlandstrasse 129, CH 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland, 3PSI Centre for Neutrons and Muons Sciences, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland, 4PSI Centre for Energy and Environmental Sciences, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzer-land, 5Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland, 6Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland

The precise analytical evaluation of thin film materials is essential for their integration into high-performance photonic devices. Holmium oxide (Ho2O3), a rare-earth sesquioxide with potential in integrated X-ray laser technologies [1], was deposited on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with both KrF (248 nm) and Nd:YAG (532 nm) laser sources.

Structural analysis through high-resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed oriented, crystalline growth. Reciprocal space mapping (RSM) was employed to determine both in-plane and out-of-plane lattice constants, yielding values of approximately 10.61 Å, consistent with bulk Ho2O3 [2] and indicating strain-free, relaxed films without lattice tilt. Stoichiometry and compositional uniformity were investigated using 16O resonance-enhanced Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), confirming stoichiometric film growth and high elemental accuracy.

These findings underscore the importance of integrating structural and ion beam analysis techniques to verify the crystalline quality and compositional accuracy of thin films intended for advanced photonic applications.

[1] Rameshbabu, S., & Bleiner, D. In Compact Radiation Sources from EUV to Gamma-rays: Development and Applications. SPIE 2023, 12582, 95-103.

[2] Singh, H. P., & Dayal, B. Journal of the Less Common Metals, 1969, 18(2), 172-174.