Pulsed laser deposition (PLD)

Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique used to create thin films or multilayer structures based on pulsed laser ablation. In this process, a high-powered pulsed laser beam from a UV excimer laser is focused onto a solid target material inside a vacuum chamber. This rapidly heats and vaporizes the target's surface, creating a highly energetic plasma plume of ablated material. The plume, containing ions, atoms, and molecular clusters, expands and propagates toward the substrate placed opposite the target, where it condenses and forms a thin film. The film’s growth rate, structure, and properties can be controlled by the substrate temperature and atmosphere. The deposition process can be performed in either reactive or inert atmosphere. Furthermore, the ion beam-assisted deposition is available in our system.