Pulsed laser crystallization of sol-gel derived cerium oxide thin films

Cerium oxide sol-gel-derived thin films were crystallized by pulsed excimer laser annealing (ELA). X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman Spectroscopy (RS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were employed to analyze the effect of laser fluence and number of pulses on the structural and morphological properties of the irradiated films. XRD and RS results, supported by thermal simulations, confirmed crystallization into cubic cerium oxide starting from 40 mJcm-2. SEM micrographs showed that an increased number of pulses induced the formation of porous and complex nanostructured surfaces, different from the morphology obtained on thermally annealed films. Finally, water contact angle measurements revealed that the films showed a characteristic hydrophobic petal effect. Successful crystallization of cubic cerium oxide films by pulsed laser annealingEffect of laser fluence, number of pulses and film thickness was investigatedCharacterization of the surface morphology evolution was performed by FE-SEM

Automated summary

The crystallization of cerium oxide sol-gel-derived thin films and their structural and morphological properties were investigated using pulsed excimer laser annealing. The results showed that laser fluence and number of pulses influenced the crystallization and morphology of the irradiated films.