Advantages of dual-laser ablation in the growth of multicomponent thin films

Abstract

We report the use of a dual-laser deposition process to grow stoichiometric films of the piezoelectric material PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) and the thermoelectric material Ba8Ga16Ge30. High volatility of Pb and Ba in these materials leads to non-stoichiometric growth in conventional PLD processes. Dual-laser ablation process preserves the Pb and Ba stoichiometry while significantly reducing the thickness variation and particulate density on the deposited films. This lead to the growth of smooth uniform films with enhanced ferroelectric and electrical properties. The dual-laser ablation combines the pulses of a KrF excimer laser (248 nm wavelength, 30 ns pulse width) and a CO2 laser (10.6 μm wavelength, 250 ns pulse width) where the beams are spatially overlapped on the ablation target and temporally delayed. At an optimum delay that is dependent on the physical properties of the material, CO2 pulse energy is coupled into the plume, generating a high temperature plasma (>25,000K). Laser-target interaction studies have shown the evaporation to be stoichiometric. Emission spectroscopy studies have shown ten-fold increase in emission intensities in dual-laser ablation while time-gated 2D ICCD imaging studies revealed the plume expansion to be stoichiometric over a large cone-angle of the plume under these conditions. Time-of-flight investigations in concert with hydrodynamic modeling provided a clear understanding of the mechanism of dual-laser ablation. Furthermore, plasma generated in the process is highly ionized (>75%) leading to films with high density and crystallinity. This paper will show the enhancement in properties attainable by the dual-laser ablation process in comparison to the single laser ablation.