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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
Thin copper films are deposited onto glass and irradiated, in air, by means of a scanned Ar+ laser beam. The kinetics of oxidation are measured by an interferometric method. The laser-synthesized oxide films are characterized by optical microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and optical spectroscopy. It is shown that the oxidation kinetics, as well as the structural and optical properties of the oxide, depend on the laser beam power and on the initial thickness of the copper film. It is argued that these facts are related to the thermal history of the samples under laser irradiation.