Thermal stability of nanostructurally stabilized zirconium oxide

Nanostructurally stabilized zirconium oxide (NSZ) hard transparent films were produced without chemical stabilizers by the ion beam assisted deposition technique (IBAD). A transmission electron microscopy study of the samples produced below 150°C revealed that these films are composed of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) nanocrystallites of diameters 7.5 ± 2.3 nm. X-ray and selected-area electron diffraction studies suggested that the as-deposited films are consistent with cubic phase ZrO₂. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) indicated the formation of stoichiometric ZrO₂. The phase identity of these optically transparent NSZ films was in agreement with cubic ZrO₂, as indicated by the matching elastic modulus values from the calculated results for pure cubic zirconium oxide and results of nanoindentation measurements. Upon annealing in air for 1 h, these NSZ films were found to retain most of their room temperature deposited cubic phase x-ray diffraction signature up to 850°C. Size effect and vacancy stabilization mechanisms and the IBAD technique are discussed to explain the present results.