Thin films of rare earth oxide, YScO₃, a potential next generation material that could be used in ever-shrinking electronic devices, have been made by scientists in Finland and Estonia.

as-deposited YScO3 film

Jaakko Niinistö and coworkers at the Helsinki University of Technology, University of Helsinki and the University of Tartu prepared very thin films of YScO₃ using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process. They could control the films' composition and thickness very easily, at lower temperatures than those needed in other processes.

Niinistö's film has a range of electrical properties, which could see it being used in semiconductor devices or gas sensors. 

Niinistö now hopes to develop ALD processes also for other rare earth metals and related phases as well as to characterize them for electrical and other properties which could provide more next generation materials for the semiconductor industry. 

Susan Batten