Laser Reactive Ablation: One Step Procedure for the Synthesis and Deposition of Compound Thin Films

Laser Reactive Ablation (LRA) was proved to be an efficient one-step procedure for the deposition of thin films of compounds like TiN and TiC. We extended this method to the deposition of silicon nitride films on Si wafers by laser ablation of a Si target in ambient NH3 reactive gas. Amorphous Si3N4 films were deposited on Si wafers at a pressure of 1 mbar and a temperature of the collector of 200° C. The mechanisms involved in this case seem to be essentially different to those involved in the deposition of TiN or TiC films. A possible explanation is proposed.