RF assisted pulsed laser deposition of oxides

Metal oxide thin films have been depositied by reactive pulsed laser ablation of metallic target (titanium, tungsten, zinc) in presence of a 13.5 MHz radio frequency (RF) plasma (10 Pa static atmosphere of O2) using a doubled frequency Nd:YAG laser. The gaseous species were collected in Si(100) substrates positioned in front of the target on a heatable holder (up to 1000 K). The deposited thin films were analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A laser microprobe mass analyzer (LAMMA), based on a time of flight mass spectrometer, was employed in order to detect cluster ions resulting from the ablation process of some samples previously deposited on suitable quartz substrates. The comparison between conventional pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and the RF plasma-assisted PLD showed the RF plasma influence on the structural characteristics of the thin films.