Thin-Film Formation by Laser-Assisted Molecular Beam Deposition

Laser Assisted Molecular Beam Deposition (LAMBD) is a pulsed laser deposition technique which utilizes a train of gas pulses to precisely control the chemistry and transport of species to then be deposited on a substrate. The LAMBD technique has been used to grow films on a variety of substrates and to ablate a variety of target materials including: metals, 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 films have been analyzed by Raman scattering, SEM, EDX, FTIR, ESCA, NMR, mass spectrometry and surface profile measurements to determine film structure and composition. These results demonstrate the potential of using LAMBD sources as a means of depositing a variety of high quality single and multiple component films.