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

The need for precise laser pulse synchronization in a dual-laser ablation s ystem to optimize the quality of the deposited thin films has been previous ly demonstrated. We present, in this article, a novel technique for the syn chronization of an excimer and a CO2 laser with synchronization having a te mporal fluctuation (jitter) of less than +/- 14 ns. This is several times b etter than the best precision of temporal synchronization possible using tr aditional electronic techniques and is crucial for the application of dual- laser ablation in the manufacturing of thin films. Evidence for reproducibi lity 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. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.