Large-area pulsed laser deposition of thin films with atomic precision (10760)

Project nummer: 10760

Omschrijving van het onderzoek

Among a large variety of deposition techniques, Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) represents today's most advanced method for preparing ultraflat thin films. PLD utilizes the transient particle flows of a laser-induced plasma to achieve a fully controlled (also crystalline) growth of thin films. When only small areas and a small number of samples is required, PLD can be considered as indispensible due to its superior control and precision of growth and synthesis of complex materials, like for example complex oxides. It would be highly desired to make such advanced level of control and precision available for the industrial growth of films. However, an upscaling of PLD to meet the industrial needs forms a major challenge. The reason is that atomic precision has to be maintained over much larger areas and at higher deposition rates, to be realized in so far unexplored scaling steps. Therefore, a scaling of PLD requires a fundamentally and quantitatively unprecedented understanding and control of the spatio-temporal properties of the underlying laser-induced plasma dynamics that drives the growth kinetics.
The goal of this research project is to realize strategies and standards for an upscaling of PLD while maintaining full control of film growth. As a major precondition for scaling we will incorporate an excimer laser that provides repetition rates of up to 1 kHz, average output powers of up to 1kW and a high-quality (diffraction limited) beam. This will enable record-efficiency and record-speed target ablation as well as new deposition strategies, involving advanced beam, target and substrate manipulation.
To maintain precision down to the atomic level, we will employ a detailed spectroscopic diagnostics, and theoretical modelling of the transient dynamics of the laser-induced plasma plume with regard to atomic and molecular species and their flow. It is this transient dynamics which physically connects the externally controllable scaling parameters (such as the laser intensity distribution, pulse duration, repetition rates and deposition geometries) to the film growth. With the additional integration of an advanced electron diffraction system for the in-situ monitoring of the deposition it will become possible to relate the external controllable parameters and the material flow in the plasma plume to the growth of atomic films. The proposed project will set new standards and provide a breakthrough for the industrial application of PLD.

Gebruikers

Three companies are involved in this project.

Projectleider

Dr.ing. H.M.J. Bastiaens
Universiteit Twente
MESA+ Research Institute for Nanotechnology
Postbus 217
7500 AE ENSCHEDE

Status van het project

Starting date:	01-07-2010
End date:	31-07-2013

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