Fabrication of stoichiometric oriented Ag2Se thin film by laser ablation

Abstract The fabrication of Ag 2 Se thin films attracts interest due to the unique magnetoresistive and electrical properties of this compound. The laser ablation is one of the most convenient methods of thin films producing. However, all previous authors reported an excess of metallic silver in Ag 2 Se films deposited by laser ablation. The reasons for this deviation from the stoichiometric composition have not been identified. We have shown that an excess of silver arises due to the selenium evaporation from the surface of large particles in a laser plume. The addition of a 20 at. % excess of selenium to the ablation target enabled us to fabricate stoichiometric and perfectly oriented film of silver selenide.