Nanostructured Thin Films β-Al-Mg Obtained Using PLD Technique

Abstract

In this work, the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique was used to grow AlMg thin films from a β-Mg 2 Al 3 target with nominal composition: 39.09 at.% Mg and 60.91 at.% Al. The paper presents the study of β-Mg 2 Al 3 thin films deposited using the pulsed laser deposition technique. AlMg thin films were prepared on Si (400) substrates and deposited by means of using a QS-Nd:YAG laser (λ = 266, 355 nm). Samples were prepared with laser fluence (1.1 J/cm 2 and 1.6 J/cm 2 ) and at two different substrate (Si) temperatures (25 • C and 200• C). The target possessed columnar structure and changes in chemical composition took place as a result of the influence of the laser irradiation. Investigations focused on structure and chemical composition showed that the films generally had nanocrystalline structure and that the quantity of Al and Mg varied in the films.

Structure and Morphology of Thin Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition Technique

“…In fact, most droplets reach the substrate in a molten state and are quenched as flat discs on the substrate. Our previous investigations [5,8] showed that these droplets owned the higher concentration of aluminium. The transmission electron microscopy is the suitable technique for the calculation of the thin films thickness.…”

“…The film Al-Mg film was prepared on Si (100) at 200 C (T s -substrate temperature) while Al-Mg-Ni multilayer on AZ91D alloy at 20 C (T s ). These process parameters assured the high deposition rates and the nanocrystalline structure of the films [5][6][7][8]. The details of the laser depositions were showed in previous paper [5].…”

“…These process parameters assured the high deposition rates and the nanocrystalline structure of the films [5][6][7][8]. The details of the laser depositions were showed in previous paper [5]. The structure and morphology of the grown materials was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).…”

“…magnesium alloys prevented of the action of the damaging environment. During the last years, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) [1][2][3][4][5] turned out to be a suitable method for the thin film deposition of different materials. The rapid interaction between the laser beam of high intensity and Al-Mg and Ni materials causes the vaporisation and leading to high deposition rates and to receiving the stoichiometric films.…”