MODELING OF PLUME DYNAMICS IN LASER-ABLATION PROCESSES FOR THIN-FILM DEPOSITION OF MATERIALS

The transport dynamics of laser-ablated neutral/plasma plumes are of s ignificant interest for film growth by pulsed-laser deposition of mate rials, since the magnitude and kinetic energy of the species arriving at the deposition substrate are key processing parameters. Dynamical c alculations of plume propagation in vacuum and in background gas have been performed using particle-in-cell hydrodynamics, continuum gasdyna mics, and scattering models. Results from these calculations are prese nted and compared with experimental observations. (C) 1996 American In stitute of Physics.