Intelligent Process Control for Pulsed-Laser Deposition. Phase 1.

Abstract : This report reviews the activity in the field of thin films grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) over the past ten years. Over 260 materials have been deposited by PLD for numerous applications, and the field is still very active. Applications for materials deposited by PLD are numerous and include areas such as electronics, opto-electronics, magnetic, tribological, and biological. At present, the most likely near term production application which will require laser deposited material. is high temperature superconducting filters for use in the mobile communications industry. The market for such devices has been estimated at approximately $500M. This report also describes unique tools with which to improve the infrastructure and help to control the pulsed laser deposition process. These tools include an novel deposition rate monitor based on atomic absorption which might also be used to monitor film composition as well. Also, an in-situ fluence monitor has been developed to measure the energy which actually enters the deposition chamber, and a constant fluence optical train has been designed to be compatible with large area PLD, based on raster scanning the laser over large diameter targets.