Demonstration of Two Multi-Component Target Ablation Approaches and Their Application in Combinatorial Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

Combinatorial pulsed laser deposition (C-PLD) based on segmented targets has led to new possibilities in the pace of discovery of novel advanced materials with significantly reduced deposition time and material consumption. However, fabrication of established segmented targets may be complex or not even possible for certain material combinations. In this article, two alternative C-PLD techniques based on easy-to-fabricate segmented targets are presented. One approach uses two semi-circular segments A and B with a systematic adjustable lateral shift of the target rotation axis from the target center. The other approach is based on a new target design defined by an ABA-segmentation where B is a horizontal bar between two semi-circular segments of A. Both approaches enable growth of discrete composition libraries. The concepts and important parameters are introduced and computer simulations as function of the geometric parameters are made to yield the expected thin film compositions. As proof-of-concept, the techniques are employed on the transparent, semiconducting ternary alloy zinc-tin-oxide. The simulations are in very good agreement with the experimental data. Physical properties of films grown by the demonstrated approaches are compared with those obtained by established PLD processes.