Pulsed laser deposition of oxide and metallic thin films by means of Nd:YAG laser source operating at its 1st harmonics: recent approaches and advances

Abstract

Quantum materials are central for the development of novel functional systems that are often based on interface specific phenomena. Fabricating controlled interfaces between quantum materials requires adopting a flexible growth technique capable to synthesize different materials within a single-run deposition process with high control of structure, stoichiometry, and termination. Among the various available thin film growth technologies, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) allows controlling the growth of diverse materials at the level of single atomic layers. In PLD the atomic species are supplied through an ablation process of a stoichiometric target either in form of polycrystalline powders or of a single crystal. No carrier gases are needed in the deposition process. The ablation process is compatible with a wide range of background pressure. We present results of thin-film growth by PLD obtained by using an Nd:YAG infrared pulsed laser source operating at its first harmonics. With respect to the traditional PLD systems—based on excimer KrF UV-lasers—optimal conditions for the growth of thin films and heterostructures are reached at large target-to-substrate distance. Merits and limitations of this approach for growing oxide and non-oxide thin films are discussed. The merits of an Nd:YAG laser to grow very high-quality thin films suggest the possibility of implementing compact in-situ setups e.g. integrated with analytical instrumentation under ultra-high vacuum conditions.

Metal to insulator transition at the surface of V2O3 thin films: An in-situ view

“…Samples were grown starting from commercially available V 2 O 3 targets (SurfaceNet GmBH and Stanford Advanced Materials) ablated using the fundamental harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) onto (0001)-oriented sapphire (Al 2 O 3 ) substrates [20]. Depositions were performed in vacuum (p < 10 −7 mbar), with the substrate kept at a temperature of 750 • C.…”

Effects of Oxygen Partial Pressure and Substrate Temperature on the Structure and Morphology of Sc and Y Co-Doped ZrO2 Solid Electrolyte Thin Films Prepared via Pulsed Laser Deposition

“…As can be observed in Figure 4a, the images revealed dense and crack-free surfaces, with the presence of droplets or circular agglomerates that increases at increasing deposition temperature. These agglomerated droplets are ScYSZ particles which are characteristic deposits for oxide films prepared using Nd:YAG laser system in PLD [20,33,35]. On the other hand, Figure 4b showed the SEM surface images of the as-deposited thin film on SiO 2 -Si substrate at various oxygen partial pressure.…”

“…its for oxide films prepared using Nd:YAG laser system in PLD [20,33,35]. On the other hand, Figure 4b showed the SEM surface images of the as-deposited thin film on SiO2-Si substrate at various oxygen partial pressure.…”

Toward controlling the Al2O3/ZnO interface properties by in situ ALD preparation

“…[5][6][7][8] The investigation of their properties as well as the band alignment at the heterojunction interface plays a pivotal role in evaluating the efficiency of devices. [9][10][11][12] Different methods have been applied for the deposition of oxide-based materials, including magnetron sputtering, 13 solgel techniques, 14 pulsed laser deposition, 15 chemical vapor deposition, 16 molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), 17 and atomic layer deposition (ALD). 18 The usefulness of these diverse methods for growing interfaces used in devices can be characterized by several criteria.…”