Nanocrystalline Sm–Fe composites fabricated by pulse laser deposition at 157 nm

Abstract

Sm–Fe thin films were deposited on a Si wafer coated with a ∼100 nm thick layer of Ta by ablating a solid Sm–Fe target. The Sm–Fe target was ablated using a molecular fluorine laser with λ = 157 nm at low laser energy of ∼25 mJ/pulse. The thickness of the deposited amorphous film (in vacuum) was ∼20 nm and the dimensions of the nanocrystals deposited on the Si–Ta substrate (in He atmosphere) varied between 20 and 500 nm. Using the low energy laser for growing Sm–Fe nanocrystals by pulse laser deposition (PLD) results in a composition, which remains the same as the composition of the initial target. The morphology and the type of the films depended on the depositing experimental conditions.