Studies of pulsed laser deposition processes of BaTiO3 thin films

Pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD) has had a widespread use during the last years, but there is not a full understanding of the different processes involved in this technique. In the present paper a study of the ablation process of a BaTiO3 target and its deposition as a thin film is shown. Two interesting results were observed. First, an inversely proportional relation between the most probable kinetic energies (and most probable momenta) of ionic elements in the plume and their ionization potentials was observed. This result is related to the way the material is extracted and the formation of the spatial charge in the plume. Second, polycrystalline barium titanate thin film with preferential crystallographic orientation was deposited at room temperature and under high vacuum conditions. This result is related with the transference of kinetic energy of the species in the plume as they reach the substrate. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.