Optical Characterization of Pulse Laser Deposition of Thin Films of Hard Materials Using RHEED and AFM Techniques.

摘要

Laser ablation provides a mechanism whereby non-volatile material can be ejected into the gas phase. As a novel way of making coatings and interesting thin films, PLD has been in use for a number of years and has found application in areas ranging from the growth of high temperature superconductors to diamond thin-film generation. PLD is initiated by laser ablation, which is essentially evaporation of a material by a high-powered laser. Subsequently, ejected material is deposited at a desired substrate. With regard to hard coatings such as SiC or TiC, PLD is being used to coat micro- electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices, which are becoming increasing important in Air Force related activities. Once put into space, it is clear that wear on components constitutes a serious maintenance issue, and minimizing wear is desirable. In terms of applying a hard coating, the advantages of PLD are numerous. The most important ones include ease of deposition, possibility of obtaining crystalline films with good adhesion and high optical response at low temperatures (even at room temperature), and the ability to reproduce the stoichiometry of the target in the film, including that of multi-component targets.