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Current state-of-the-art of pulsed laser deposition of optical waveguide structures: existing capabilities and future trends

Current state-of-the-art of pulsed laser deposition of optical waveguide structures: existing capabilities and future trends
Current state-of-the-art of pulsed laser deposition of optical waveguide structures: existing capabilities and future trends
Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has now reached a stage of maturity where the growth of thin films is routine. All that is required is a pulsed ultra-violet (UV) wavelength laser, a vacuum chamber, a target, and a substrate placed in near proximity to the plasma plume. Whether the film that you grow is the film that you need, and whether the thickness, uniformity, optical quality, stoichiometry, degree of crystallinity, orientation and much more is what is desired is another question entirely. PLD is both a science and an art and there are many tricks-of-the-trade that need to be considered to ensure that materials grown are the materials wanted. This paper discusses the practicalities of PLD systems, target geometries, heating regimes for successful epitaxial growth of crystalline films, the problem of particulates, laser sources to use, and in the context of our most recent PLD system, the number of independent lasers and targets used. We show that the use of multiple targets permits a combinatorial approach, whereby stoichiometry can be adjusted to grow designer materials, and in particular multilayer systems, ideally suited for active optical waveguides, a truly demanding end application where optical quality and in-plane losses must be reduced to an absolute minimum.
pulsed laser deposition, optical, waveguide, garnet crystal, combinatorial, multilayers
0169-4332
5199-5205
Eason, R.W.
e38684c3-d18c-41b9-a4aa-def67283b020
May-Smith, T.C.
47952bbd-ce28-4507-a723-b4d80bf0f809
Grivas, C.
7f564818-0ac0-4127-82a7-22e87ac35f1a
Darby, M.S.B.
c6ef0c2c-dd94-4e39-bae4-e785657048f0
Shepherd, D.P.
9fdd51c4-39d6-41b3-9021-4c033c2f4ead
Gazia, R.
655c743d-b8e9-4a57-8626-3199fd2bf9e9
Eason, R.W.
e38684c3-d18c-41b9-a4aa-def67283b020
May-Smith, T.C.
47952bbd-ce28-4507-a723-b4d80bf0f809
Grivas, C.
7f564818-0ac0-4127-82a7-22e87ac35f1a
Darby, M.S.B.
c6ef0c2c-dd94-4e39-bae4-e785657048f0
Shepherd, D.P.
9fdd51c4-39d6-41b3-9021-4c033c2f4ead
Gazia, R.
655c743d-b8e9-4a57-8626-3199fd2bf9e9

Eason, R.W., May-Smith, T.C., Grivas, C., Darby, M.S.B., Shepherd, D.P. and Gazia, R. (2008) Current state-of-the-art of pulsed laser deposition of optical waveguide structures: existing capabilities and future trends. Applied Surface Science, 255 (10), 5199-5205. (doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2008.07.133).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has now reached a stage of maturity where the growth of thin films is routine. All that is required is a pulsed ultra-violet (UV) wavelength laser, a vacuum chamber, a target, and a substrate placed in near proximity to the plasma plume. Whether the film that you grow is the film that you need, and whether the thickness, uniformity, optical quality, stoichiometry, degree of crystallinity, orientation and much more is what is desired is another question entirely. PLD is both a science and an art and there are many tricks-of-the-trade that need to be considered to ensure that materials grown are the materials wanted. This paper discusses the practicalities of PLD systems, target geometries, heating regimes for successful epitaxial growth of crystalline films, the problem of particulates, laser sources to use, and in the context of our most recent PLD system, the number of independent lasers and targets used. We show that the use of multiple targets permits a combinatorial approach, whereby stoichiometry can be adjusted to grow designer materials, and in particular multilayer systems, ideally suited for active optical waveguides, a truly demanding end application where optical quality and in-plane losses must be reduced to an absolute minimum.

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Published date: 1 March 2008
Additional Information: Laser and Plasma in Micro- and Nano-Scale Materials Processing and Diagnostics - Proceedings from the European Material Research Society Spring Meeting 2008 – Symposium B
Venue - Dates: EMRS 2008 (European Materials Research Society) Spring Meeting, Strasbourg, France, 2008-05-26 - 2008-05-30
Keywords: pulsed laser deposition, optical, waveguide, garnet crystal, combinatorial, multilayers

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 65844
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/65844
ISSN: 0169-4332
PURE UUID: 94204fa4-b1ab-4a8b-acf7-7b40256d7507
ORCID for R.W. Eason: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9704-2204
ORCID for D.P. Shepherd: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-8184

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 20 Mar 2009
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:34

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Contributors

Author: R.W. Eason ORCID iD
Author: T.C. May-Smith
Author: C. Grivas
Author: M.S.B. Darby
Author: D.P. Shepherd ORCID iD
Author: R. Gazia

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