Surface morphology and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of BiFeO₃ thin films deposited on top of Ta₂O₅/Si layers

¹ Dagestan State University, Makhachkala, St. M. Gadjieva 43-a, Dagestan Republic, 367000, Russia
² The Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, The Directorate of Research, Development and Innovation Management (DMCDI), Constantin Daicoviciu Street, no. 15, Cluj-Napoca, 400020, Cluj county, Romania.
³ Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Physics Department, Technická 8, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic.
⁴ Dagestan State Technical University, Makhachkala, St. I. Shamil, 70, Dagestan Republic, 367026, Russia
⁵ Institute of Scientific Instruments of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 147, 612 64 Brno, Czech Republic
⁶ Institute of Physics of Materials, Academy of Sciences ČR, Žižkova 22, 616 62, Brno, Czech Republic
⁷ Ural State University of Economics, Institute of management and information technologies, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: stefan_ta@yahoo.com

Abstract

In this study a comparison of the topography of BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films deposited on tantalum pentoxide substrates of different thicknesses is provided. The Ta₂O₅ substrates had a roughness increasing with the film thickness. The relationship between substrates of different topography but the same composition with the quality of the growing bismuth ferrite film is estimated. For the first time the topography estimation of BFO on Ta₂O₅ is presented. The difference in temperature expansion coefficients leads to intensive evaporation of bismuth ferrite from the surface during annealing. XPS analysis is provided for asdeposited and annealed BFO layers.