Pulsed Laser Deposition: An Overview

We present the historical background and the main development trends of a very rapidly growing research field: pulsed laser deposition for obtaining high-quality thin films for use in science and technology. We emphasize the main physical phenomena involved, such as the role of the plasma in the deposition process, the relation between the irradiation parameters and the plasma expansion, the overall deposition efficiency and the major shortcomings of this method. We discuss the influence upon the final performances of the films of the main deposition parameters, i.e. the incident laser wavelengths, duration and fluence, the ambient gas nature and pressure, the collector heating and the geometry of the experimental setup. We provide examples of highly adherent and uniform thin films, both stoichiometric and crystalline.