Zirconium carbide thin films deposited by pulsed laser ablation

A study of the laser ablation and deposition of zirconium carbide has been carried out in our laboratory. The target has been vaporised by a doubled N d:YAG laser and the ablation plume has been characterised by time-of-flight mass spectrometry, emission spectroscopy and ultrafast imaging performed b y an Intensified Coupled Charge Device (ICCD). The results show a single ab lation mechanism in the whole range of laser fluence used in the experiment s (0.5-15 J/cm(2)) and this is quite different from the case of TiC. The ga s phase data are confirmed by the analysis of the films deposited on orient ed silicon. In fact, by X-ray diffraction and subsequent XPS analysis, thei r composition is fluence independent lending to films with constant charact eristics on a large range of experimental conditions. The difference betwee n ZrC and TiC ablation mechanisms may be explained in terms of chemical-phy sical properties and thermodynamic considerations which can also clarify th e gas phase composition. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .