Pressure studies ofZrO2-Al2O3films grown by magnetron sputtering

High-pressure studies have been performed on the free-standing films of ${\mathrm{ZrO}}_2$-${\mathrm{Al}}_2$ ${\mathrm{O}}_3$ with [Zr]:[Al] atomic ratio of 64:36 with use of energy-dispersive x-ray diffraction techniques and synchrotron radiation. As initially deposited in the magnetron sputtering system, the films are amorphous. The tetragonal phase which is stabilized upon annealing in air at 1000 °C resembles the high-temperature tetragonal phase. This phase is more compressible than the high-pressure tetragonal phase and is stable up to 16.0 GPa. At room temperature, the amorphous films do not crystallize under application of pressures up to 25.0 GPa.