Nanomaterials (May 2024)

High-Throughput Micro-Combinatorial TEM Phase Mapping of the DC Magnetron Sputtered Y<sub>x</sub>Ti<sub>1−x</sub>O<sub>y</sub> Thin Layer System

  • Dániel Olasz,
  • Viktória Kis,
  • Ildikó Cora,
  • Miklós Németh,
  • György Sáfrán

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14110925
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 11
p. 925

Abstract

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High-throughput methods are extremely important in today’s materials science, especially in the case of thin film characterization. The micro-combinatorial method enables the deposition and characterization of entire multicomponent thin film systems within a single sample. In this paper, we report the application of this method for the comprehensive TEM characterization of the Y-Ti-O layer system. Variable composition samples (YxTi1−xOy) were prepared by dual DC magnetron sputtering, covering the entire (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) concentration range. The structure and morphology of phases formed in both as-deposited and annealed samples at 600, 700, and 800 °C were revealed as a function of Y-Ti composition (x). A comprehensive map showing the appropriate amorphous and crystalline phases, and their occurrence regions of the whole Y-Ti-O layer system, was revealed. Thanks to the applied method, it was shown with ease that at the given experimental conditions, the Y2Ti2O7 phase with a pyrochlore structure forms already at 700 °C without the TiO2 and Y2O3 by-phases, which is remarkably lower than the required temperature for most physical preparation methods, demonstrating the importance and benefits of creating phase maps in materials science and technology.

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