Development of Textured Magnesium Oxide Templates on Amorphous Polymer Surfaces Using Ion-Beam-Assisted-Deposition

Biaxially textured MgO templates have been successfully fabricated on several amorphous polymer films including Kapton tapes, polyimide, Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and photoresist films using ion-beam-assisted-deposition (IBAD). With a Y2O3 buffer layer on polymer surfaces, roughening of the polymer surfaces due to preferential ion beam sputtering can be effectively reduced to meet the surface compatibility requirement for IBAD-MgO texturing. In-plane full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of ~10.7 degrees and out-of-plane FWHM ~ 3.5 degrees have been obtained on homoepitaxial MgO films grown on top of the IBAD-MgO template. This method provides a practical route for fabricating epitaxial devices on polymers needed for flexible optoelectronics.