STUDY OF LASER ABLATION OF BISRCACUO

The formation of BiSrCaCuO thin films by the laser ablation method using a frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser has been investigated. The deposition rate, the angular distribution of the film thickness and of the various constituents, and the surface morphology of the films have been studied by the complementary use of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, nuclear reaction analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Besides the laser beam parameters, the target density and texture, the oxygen pressure in the evaporation chamber and the substrate temperature were found to widely influence the properties of the deposited films. So, the use of high-density targets yields higher deposition rates and film composition closer to target composition. Substrate temperature and oxygen pressure drastically determine the relative concentrations of the heavier-atomic-mass elements in the films.