Amorphous Cr-Zr-O thin films were deposited using reactive ion beam sputtering.
After annealing in vacuum, metastable (Cr,Zr)2O3/(Zr,Cr)O2 nanocomposites form.
The crystallization temperature depends strongly on the Zr concentration.
Metastable hexagonal (Cr,Zr)2O3 accommodates up to 3.2 at.% of zirconium.
Zirconium oxide crystallizes in tetragonal form, as it is stabilized by chromium.