Pulsed laser processing of Ge/Se thin film structures

Abstract

The comparison between results of a systematic experimental study on Q-switched ruby laser processing of supported thin Ge/Se bilayer structures and model calculations permits us to unfold the rather complicated events into elementary steps. Depending on the sequence of the elemental layers and the absorbed fluence, compound synthesis, total or partial ablation of one of the constituents or the compound formed, and simultaneous transfer of the ablated material onto a separate substrate in close proximity is possible with a single laser pulse. The striking agreement between experimental findings and model calculations indicates the validity of the simple thermal model applied. The results establish a novel, inherently simple, single-step technique for local deposition of compound films from stacked elemental layers as a source onto any substrate.