Measurement of the Stress Developed in ZrO2 Thin Film

It is well-known that tetragonal ZrO2 forms in the metal-oxide interface in the early stage of a zirconium oxidation that is protective against a further oxidation. However, as the oxide grows, the stress built up during the oxidation process is relieved. Then the tetragonal phase turns into the monoclinic phase which is nonprotective and stable at low stress. Therefore, it is believed that the zirconium oxidation kinetics depends on the phase transformation that take place at 3.1 GPa according to earlier works. In other words, if the transformation is related to holding the oxide stress above the threshold stress, the kinetics would be slow. Nevertheless, so far no one has succeeded in measuring the stress of a thin film oxide above 3.1 GPa. In this study, a stress has been successfully measured using a steam beam apparatus and muffle furnace system above a threshold stress level