Ultrathin, epitaxial cerium dioxide on silicon

It is shown that ultrathin, highly ordered, continuous films of cerium dioxide may be prepared on silicon following substrate prepassivation using an atomic layer of chlorine. The as-deposited, few-nanometer-thin Ce2O3 film may very effectively be converted at room temperature to almost fully oxidized CeO2 by simple exposure to air, as demonstrated by hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. This post-oxidation process essentially results in a negligible loss in film crystallinity and interface abruptness.