Novel technique for low-jitter dual-laser synchronization in a thin film deposition system

Abstract

The need for precise laser pulse synchronization in a dual-laser ablation system to optimize the quality of the deposited thin films has been previously demonstrated. We present, in this article, a novel technique for the synchronization of an excimer and a CO2 laser with synchronization having a temporal fluctuation (jitter) of less than ±14 ns. This is several times better than the best precision of temporal synchronization possible using traditional electronic techniques and is crucial for the application of dual-laser ablation in the manufacturing of thin films. Evidence for reproducibility in the ablation of targets using this system is presented by analyzing the initial stages of the ablated plasma using a time-gated charge coupled device imaging system.