Deposition of Ceramic Materials Using Powder and Precursor Vehicles Via Direct Write Processing

Abstract

ABSTRACTDry powder and sol gel ceramic films were deposited using a Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation Direct Write (MAPLE-DW) technique developed at NRL for optical and electrical device applications. The MAPLE-DW technique uses a high-energy focussed photon source in combination with a “ribbon” to fabricate materials onto a range of substrates at room temperature without material degradation. Two different classes of materials were processed in this research, (1) ceramic dry powder materials and (2) sot gel precursor materials. Cathodoluminescent measurements demonstrated that the efficiencies of the transferred phosphor materials were not degraded during the laser transfer process. Scanning electron microscopy and 3-D surface profilometry of the ribbon after the MAPLE-DW process revealed a 90–95% transfer efficiency for the dry powders. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy revealed that the sol gel materials also transferred with an efficiency in the 90-95% range. Three distinct regions were identified on the so gel ribbon after the laser transfer process. The regions suggest that the matrix absorbing layer and the sol gel materials are completely removed for the areas irradiated by the laser pulse, and in a second so-called “heat affected region,” only the sol gel material is ejected from the ribbon.