No abstract

The values of the optical constants of magnesium fluoride (MgF(2)) and zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films are obtained using a classical oscillator model and the experimental values of their spectral transmittance. Auger electron spectroscopy was performed on the samples to determine the chemical composition of the films. These materials are important in the design of filters, mirrors, and antireflection coatings for optical instrumentation. Unfortunately their properties strongly depend on evaporation conditions. The procedure described here allows direct measurement of the dispersive refractive index of the film after deposition.

Beryllium nitride thin films were grown on silicon substrates by laser ablating a beryllium foil in molecular nitrogen ambient. The composition and chemical state were determined with Auger (AES), X-Ray photoelectron (XPS) and energy loss (EELS) spectroscopies. A low absorption coefficient in the visible region, and an optical bandgap of 3.8 eV, determined by reflectance ellipsometry, were obtained for films grown at nitrogen pressures higher than 25 mTorr. The results show that the reaction of beryllium with nitrogen is very effective using this preparation method, producing high quality films.keywords: Beryllium nitride, laser ablation, thin films, wide bandgap, optical properties.

No abstract

Amorphous SiC and SiCxNy films have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition on single crystal silicon substrates by KrF (248 nm) excimer laser ablation of a SiC sintered target in a vacuum system at room temperature using nonreactive, Ar, and reactive, N2, background gases at different pressures. The pressure range in the growth chamber was from 4×10−8 Torr to 80 mTorr. The optical properties and stoichiometry of films were varied by the introduction of a background gas. The resulting films are inspected by spectroellipsometry in the photon-energy range of 1.5<hv<5.0 eV. In situ high resolution x-ray photoemission spectroscopy characterization was performed on every film to obtain the atomic concentration and bonding constitution of the elements as a function of background gas pressure. The ideal stoichiometry for SiC films was obtained at Ar pressures higher than 30 mT. The existence of a new phase, given by SiCN2, was suggested from surface techniques and ellipsometric data in the deposition of SiCxNy films at N2 pressures higher than 30 mTorr.