Fine trimming of SmS film resistance by XeCl laser ablation

Abstract The laser ablation threshold fluence of thin SmS films has been measured at 308 nm (XeCl excimer laser) by the photoacoustic beam deflection technique. Fine trimming of the SmS film resistance by pulsed XeCl laser ablation has then been demonstrated. In particular, it is shown that the film electrical resistance increases linearly with the number of laser shots at fluences above the ablation threshold fluence and that the increasing rate is quite dependent on the XeCl laser fluence. The resistance growth rate which was of 8 Ω/pulse at the laser fluence of 1.1 J/cm 2 has increased to 280 Ω/pulse at the laser fluence of 6.2 J/cm 2 . The rate of material removal was of 0.8 nm/pulse at 6.2 J/cm 2 and of 0.019 nm/pulse at 1.1 J/cm 2 .