PROGRESS IN THIN-FILM FORMATION BY LASER-ASSISTED MOLECULAR-BEAM DEPOSITION (LAMBD)

Laser assisted molecular beam deposition (LAMBD) is a pulsed laser abl ation technique which utilizes a train of gas pulses to precisely cont rol the chemistry and transport of species to be deposited on a substr ate. The LAMED technique has been used to grow films on a variety of s ubstrates and to ablate a variety of target materials including: metal s, metal oxides, metal halides, Si, C and SiC. In addition, a variety of more complex composite films such as Cu embedded polymers, YBa2Cu3O 7-x and organic doped TiO2 and Al2O3 have also been produced. These fi lms have been analyzed by Raman scattering, SEM, EDX, FTIR, ESCA, NMR, mass spectrometry and surface profile measurements to determine film structure and composition. Recent progress on source characterization by emission spectroscopy and a new source design will also be presente d. These results demonstrate the potential of using LAMED sources as a means of depositing a variety of high quality single and multiple com ponent films. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.