Dilute magnetic semiconductors are attractive due to their potential in spintronic devices. In this work, vanadium doped ZnO system has been studied to see its future as a dilute magnetic semiconductor. Vanadium doped ZnO thin films where vanadium percentage is 2, 3, and 5% are deposited by pulsed laser technique (PLD). The lattice parameter c derived from the (002) diffraction peak increases as vanadium content increases, suggesting vanadium substitution for Zn in ZnO lattice. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements at low temperature shows the emission peak at 3.30 eV which hint toward p-type doping in ZnO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that vanadium exists in V2+ and V4+ valence state, which is in agreement with the XRD and PL results and support the vanadium doped ZnO phase. The ferromagnetic behavior also supports the formation of vanadium doped ZnO phase in thin film samples.

In the present paper, measurement of various plasma parameters during pulsed laser deposition of ruby thin film on quartz substrate is reported. The variation of electron temperature and ion density with laser fluence and ambient pressure is recorded via Langmuir probe technique. The structural and optical properties of ruby thin films were analyzed using photo-luminescence and atomic force microscopy, and then correlated with the plasma parameters to find optimum conditions for deposition of high quality ruby thin film.

This paper describes the spatial and temporal investigation of laser ablated plasma plume of cerium oxide target using Langmuir probe. Cerium oxide target was ablated using a KrF (λ ~ 248 nm) gas laser. Experimental studies confirmed that oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10−2 mbar is sufficient enough to get good quality films of cerium oxide. At this pressure, plume was diagnosed for their spatial and temporal behavior. Spatial distribution was investigated at a distance of 15 mm, 30 mm, and up to a maximum distance of 45 mm from the target, whereas temporal behavior has been recorded in the range of 0 to 50 µS with an interval of 0.5 µS. The average electron densities are found to be maximum at 30 mm from the target position and the plasma current of the laser ablated ceria is found to be maximum at 22 µS.

The c-oriented La1.8Sr0.2CuO4 and La1.9Sr0.1CuO4 bilayer films were deposited on (001) SrTiO3 single-crystal substrates by using the pulsed laser deposition technique. The effects of deposition parameters on the quality of thin films were investigated. The crystal structures and surface morphologies were characterized by means of XRD and SEM, and the results showed that an as-prepared film deposited with the optimized parameters has high quality. Then La1.8Sr0.2CuO4/La1.9Sr0.1CuO4 bilayers structure was prepared using the optimized parameters for each corresponding layer, and the electrical transport properties were measured. Interesting rectifying properties were observed at both room and low temperatures, and the rectifying ratio at low temperature was found to be much higher than that at room temperature.

Ca3Co4O9 and Ca2.8Bi0.2Co4O9 thin films were fabricated on LaAlO3 (LAO) substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique and were studied for their thermoelectric (TE) properties in Stranski–Krastanov mode for the first time. The thin films consisted of 3D clusters/islands on a ∼14-nm thick 2D layer with cluster density being higher for Ca2.8Bi0.2Co4O9 thin films. The clusters also represent areas of dislocation and therefore act as carrier scattering centers, which leads to a temperature-activated type conductivity. Seebeck coefficient as high as 136 and 163 μ V/K was measured for the Ca3Co4O9 and Ca2.8Bi0.2Co4O9 thin films, respectively, which is among the highest reported values for this system. The 3D island formation was also found to be useful in reducing the thermal conductivity of the thin film/substrate system by increased phonon scattering. This work shows that the island formation in thin films can be utilized as a means of enhancing TE properties of a thin film system, however, a detailed work including optimization of the film thickness and cluster/inland density is required.

Mirror like Molybdenum thin films on SS substrate in vacuum (10−3 Pa) and in Helium environment has been achieved by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) Technique. The PLD thin films of Molybdenum have been characterized by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX). The specular reflectivity was recorded with Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectrometer and UV-Visible spectrometer. The optical quality of the thin films was tested via interferometric technique. At the optimum deposition parameters, the crystal orientation was in Mo(110) phase. The FIR-UV-Visible reflectivity of the mirror was found to be closed to that of the polished bulk Molybdenum and Stainless Substrate (SS) substrate.

We present a method to determine where the nanoparticles nucleate and grow during pulsed laser deposition in an ambient gas. Briefly, nanocrystalline Si films are systemically deposited on the substrates located at a distance from the plasma and placed in horizontal direction; meanwhile an external electric field is introduced perpendicularly to the plume. Based on the transportation dynamics of Si nanoparticles corresponding to different electric fields, the lateral nucleation range of 0.1 to 33.8 mm is determined for Si nanoparticles deposited in 10 Pa Ar gas at a laser fluence of 4 J/cm2. Further simulation of the mass and area density of Si nanoparticles demonstrates that both nucleation and growth probabilities in nucleation region are approximately Gauss-dependent of the lateral distance.

In this paper, measurement of various plasma parameters during pulsed laser deposition of ZnO thin films on Si (100) substrates is reported. The variations of electron number density and electron temperature with ambient pressure and target substrate distance is obtained via spectroscopic measurements. The structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and photoluminescence and then correlated with spectroscopic results to find optimum conditions for the deposition of high quality ZnO thin films.

Ion-beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) has been used to prepare biaxially textured templates necessary to realizing high superconducting performance in coated conductors.The IBAD method is characterized by the direct deposition of sharply aligned templates on nontextured metal substrates using fluorite-like oxide films (yttrium-stabilized zirconia, Gd2Zr2O7, etc.).Recent progress in vacuum technology for IBAD has made it possible to reproducibly fabricate long lengths (100 m) of IBAD-GZO templates.Continuous deposition of YBCO films on these templates has been achieved by pulsed laser deposition (PLD).Furthermore, a new approach to improving the texture of IBAD templates was found by using CeO2 films grown by PLD.Trifluoroacetate-based metalorganic deposition has also been used instead of PLD to produce superconducting layers on IBAD buffered tapes, aiming at a low-cost process.This article reviews progress in the research and development of biaxially textured templates produced using IBAD and their subsequent use in fabricating superconducting tapes and wires by means of several processes.

A ferroelectric memory diodes that consists of Au/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/Bi4Ti3O12/p-Si multilayer configuration was fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The ferroelectric properties and the electrical characteristics of the ferroelectric film system were investigated. The polarization-voltage curve of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/Bi4Ti3O12 thin films system had an asymmetry hysteresis loop with Pr=20μC/cm2 and Ec=48 kV/cm, and the decay in remnant polarization was only 10% after 109 switching cycles. The C-V curve and the I-V curve showed memory effects derived from the ferroelectric polarization of PZT/BIT films. The current density was 6.7×10−8A/cm2 at a voltage of +4V, and the conductivity behavior is discussed. The results suggested that the growth of the BIT ferroelectric layer is helpful to good ferroelectric properties, fatigue and capacitance retention characteristics.