Pulsed laser deposition of multicomponent metal and oxide films

The processing variables in Pulsed Laser Deposition technique such as deposition rate, ion concentration and kinetic ion energy are strongly determined by the laser parameters, especially the laser wavelength and the laser power density. In this paper, results are presented on the investigation of the pulsed plasma fluxes produced by six different lasers with wavelength ranging from the UV 248 nm.to the IR 10.6 m.. These results have been used to study the influence of the plasma parameters on the formation of alumina Al2O3.and multicomponent metal alloy Cu–Mn–Ni.thin films. Oxide and metal films with a very smooth, nearly defect- and droplet-free surface could be synthesized by the UV laser radiation. Also, a wavelength dependence of the surface morphology of the deposited films was found out. Chemical composition, microhardness and elastic modulus of the films were determined and correlated with the deposition conditions. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.