Structure of thin lead oxide layers as determined by x−ray diffraction

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Abstract
Thin lead oxide layers (30−80 Å thick) %were grown on evaporated lead films using both thermal oxidation and rf oxygen plasma oxidation. These layers were characterized structurally, using x−ray diffraction in the standard Bragg−Brentano configuration. The layers were crystalline orthorhombic PbO with a very strongly preferred (001) orientation parallel to the {111} preferred orientation in the evaporated Pb films. Thickness and strain were determined from line broadening and peak shift, and the strain as a function of thickness is explained using a simple dislocation model for the structure of the lead−lead oxide interface. The high−temperature orthorhomic phase observed may be stabilized by epitaxial forces.