Maskless plating has been achieved through a new technique that utilizes a cw or pulsed laser, focused onto an electrode in an electroplating bath. In the region of optical absorption on the cathode, plating enhancement rates on the order of 103 occur for optical power densities on the order of 104 W/cm2. Laser scanning produces a plating pattern along the scanning path. A qualitative theory based on convective mass transport is used to explain the results.

The temperature dependence of laser-induced transverse voltages in Pt and Pd films has been investigated in the range ∼25–300 °K. When the data are normalized to a constant average film temperature gradient, a close similarity is found between the normalized values and bulk thermopower data throughout the temperature range. These results suggest a possible model requiring only scalar thermopower coefficients.

We describe a sample holder useful for the study of the angular dependence of photoluminescence at liquid helium temperatures. The system is characterized by a high collection efficiency and is particularly well suited to situations where there is only vertical access to the experimental space.

A novel vacuum sample holder is described for use with an optical microscope. The sample stage temperature can be made to vary from ∼ 30 to 800 K. Electrical feedthroughs together with an optical window provide convenient features for use in a wide variety of experiments. Data for optically induced transverse thermoelectric voltages of a Pd film as a function of temperature are presented.

We have irradiated slant-angle-deposited metallic films on sapphire substrates with pulses of incoherent phonons and observed voltages in the plane of the sample. These voltages are very similar in character to those previously observed using laser irradiation as the excitation source. The new data prove unequivocally that these as well as our previously observed voltages in metal films are purely thermal in origin, consistent with a thermoelectric model.