Deposition of NbC thin films by pulsed laser ablation

Niobium carbide thin films were prepared by pulsed laser ablation of a stoichiometric NbC target. XeCl (308 nm, 30 ns) and Nd:YAC (266 nm, 5 ns) lasers operating at a repetition rate of 10 Hz were used. Films were deposited on Si (100) substrates at room temperature either in vacuum or in an argon atmosphere (2 x 10(-1) mbar). Different laser fluences (2, 4 and 6 J/cm(2)) and different numbers of pulses (1 x 10(4), 2 x 10(4) and 4 x 10(4)) were tested. For the first time, NbC films were prepared through a clean procedure without the addition of a hydrocarbon atmosphere. The phase constitution of the films, unit cell size, mean crystallite dimensions and preferred orientation are determined as a function of deposition conditions by X-ray diffraction. Complementary morphological and structural analysis of the films were performed by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy.