Near-Field nano-molding of gold thin films by a pulsed laser

A structural and morphological study of nanostructured gold thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition in the presence of several inert background gases (Ar, He, and N2) and at various pressures (from 10 mTorr to 1 Torr) and target-to-substrate distances (from 1 to 10 cm) is presented. Structural and morphological analyses were undertaken using semiquantitative x-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. For each set of deposition conditions, the kinetic energy of the neutral gold species [Au(I)] present in the plasma plume was determined by time-of-flight emission spectroscopy and used to characterize the plasma dynamics. It is shown that all films exhibit a transition from highly [111] oriented to polycrystalline as the Au(I) kinetic energy decreases. The polycrystalline phase ratio is close to 0% for Au(I) kinetic energy larger than approximately 3.0 eV/atom and approximately 86 ± 10% for Au(I) kinetic energy smaller than approximately 0.30 eV/atom, irrespective of the background gas atmosphere. The mean crystallite size of both phases and the mean roughness of the films also follow a unique relation with the Au(I) kinetic energy, independently of the nature of the background gas, and nanocrystalline films with crystallite size as small as 12 nm are obtained for Au(I) kinetic energy smaller than 0.3 eV/atom.

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Pulsed laser treatment of gold and black gold thin films fabricated by thermal evaporation

Open Physics ◽

10.2478/s11534-009-0027-7 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Michal NovotnÃ½ ◽

PÅ™emysl Fitl ◽

Anna Sytchkova ◽

JiÅ™Ã BulÃÅ™ ◽

Jan Lanaok ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Laser Treatment ◽

Thermal Evaporation ◽

Gold Film ◽

Ambient Pressure ◽

Pulsed Laser ◽

Chemical Characterization ◽

Nitrogen Atmosphere ◽

Gold Films ◽

Gold Thin Films

AbstractThe effect of pulsed laser treatment of metal, and metal blacks, was studied. Gold and black gold thin films were fabricated by thermal evaporation of gold in a vacuum and nitrogen atmosphere respectively. Black gold films were grown in a nitrogen atmosphere at pressures of 200 Pa and 300 Pa. UV pulsed laser radiation (Î» = 266 nm, Ï„ = 4 ns), with fluence ranging from 1 mJÂ·cmâˆ’2 to 250 mJÂ·cmâˆ’2 was used for the film treatment in a vacuum and nitrogen atmosphere. The nitrogen pressure was varied up to 100 kPa. Surface structure modifications were analyzed by optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was used for chemical characterization of the samples. A significant dependence of the film optical and structural properties on laser treatment conditions (laser fluence, ambient pressure and number of applied pulses) was found. The threshold for observable damage and initiation of changes of morphology for gold and black gold surfaces was determined. Distinct modifications were observed for fluences greater than 106 mJÂ·cmâˆ’2 and 3.5 mJÂ·cmâˆ’2 for the gold and black gold films respectively. Absorbtivity of the black gold film is found to decrease with an increase in the number of laser pulses. Microstructural and nanostructural modifications after laser treatment of the black gold film were observed. EDX analysis revealed that no impurities were introduced into the samples during both the deposition and laser treatment.

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Pulsed laser deposition of gold thin films with long-range spatial uniform SERS activity

Applied Physics A ◽

10.1007/s00339-019-2527-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 125 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

C. Zanchi ◽

A. Lucotti ◽

M. Tommasini ◽

M. Pistaffa ◽

L. Giuliani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Pulsed Laser Deposition ◽

Long Range ◽

Pulsed Laser ◽

Laser Deposition ◽

Gold Thin Films

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Observations on the growth of YBa2Cu3O7-δ thin films on MgO by pulsed-laser ablation

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100089652 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 1068-1069

Author(s):

M. Grant Norton ◽

C. Barry Carter

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Thin Films ◽

Laser Ablation ◽

Substrate Surface ◽

Pulsed Laser ◽

Pulsed Laser Ablation ◽

Thin Film Deposition ◽

Film Deposition ◽

Laser Ablation Process ◽

Deposition Parameters

Pulsed-laser ablation has been widely used to produce high-quality thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-δ on a range of substrate materials. The nonequilibrium nature of the process allows congruent deposition of oxides with complex stoichiometrics. In the high power density regime produced by the UV excimer lasers the ablated species includes a mixture of neutral atoms, molecules and ions. All these species play an important role in thin-film deposition. However, changes in the deposition parameters have been shown to affect the microstructure of thin YBa2Cu3O7-δ films. The formation of metastable configurations is possible because at the low substrate temperatures used, only shortrange rearrangement on the substrate surface can occur. The parameters associated directly with the laser ablation process, those determining the nature of the process, e g. thermal or nonthermal volatilization, have been classified as ‘primary parameters'. Other parameters may also affect the microstructure of the thin film. In this paper, the effects of these ‘secondary parameters' on the microstructure of YBa2Cu3O7-δ films will be discussed. Examples of 'secondary parameters' include the substrate temperature and the oxygen partial pressure during deposition.

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TEM sample preparation of wear-tested room-temperature pulsed-laser-deposited thin films of MoS2 by ultramicrotomy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100151428 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 1118-1119

Author(s):

Pamela F. Lloyd ◽

Scott D. Walck

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Room Temperature ◽

High Vacuum ◽

Pulsed Laser ◽

Ultra High Vacuum ◽

Wear Testing ◽

Preparation Technique ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Aerospace Applications

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a novel technique for the deposition of tribological thin films. MoS2 is the archetypical solid lubricant material for aerospace applications. It provides a low coefficient of friction from cryogenic temperatures to about 350°C and can be used in ultra high vacuum environments. The TEM is ideally suited for studying the microstructural and tribo-chemical changes that occur during wear. The normal cross sectional TEM sample preparation method does not work well because the material’s lubricity causes the sandwich to separate. Walck et al. deposited MoS2 through a mesh mask which gave suitable results for as-deposited films, but the discontinuous nature of the film is unsuitable for wear-testing. To investigate wear-tested, room temperature (RT) PLD MoS2 films, the sample preparation technique of Heuer and Howitt was adapted.Two 300 run thick films were deposited on single crystal NaCl substrates. One was wear-tested on a ball-on-disk tribometer using a 30 gm load at 150 rpm for one minute, and subsequently coated with a heavy layer of evaporated gold.

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