AVS 47th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Tuesday Sessions
       Session PS-TuP

Paper PS-TuP31
Plasma Characterization and Film Structure Control for ZrO2/Y2O3 Laser Ablation in Different Environments

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C & D

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: A.A. Voevodin, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB
Authors: A.A. Voevodin, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB
J.G. Jones, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB
J.S. Zabinski, Air Force Research Laboratory, WPAFB
Correspondent: Click to Email
Laser ablation deposition of highly oriented yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films is important for various technological applications and depends critically on the selection of background environment, with low pressure oxygen being the most common choice. Here, the spatial-temporal distribution of YSZ ablation plasma chemistry, excitation states, and energy was determined for ablations in vacuum, low pressure O2, and low pressure Ar. For this purpose, fluorescence spectroscopy, element specific imaging techniques, and time-of-flight experiments were used. It was found that an Ar background considerably promotes excitation and ionization of zirconium during the first 1-3 ï­s after the laser strike. There is much less zirconium excitation in an O2 background, where a large fraction of atomic oxygen with a broad spatial distribution was found. ZrO and YO molecules were observed in both environments. Kinetic energies of neutral species were reduced by about a factor of two in Ar and O2 backgrounds compared to vacuum. This was not observed for Zr1+ species, which maintained about 100-120 eV mean kinetic energy nearly independently of the background. The results of the plasma analyses were used for the film composition and structure control. In particular, films with [001] orientation, with respect to the substrate surface, were produced at near room temperature on various single crystal and polycrystalline substrates. Correlation between deposition parameters, plasma characteristics, and film properties are discussed.