Laser Reactive Ablation Deposition of Silicon Carbide Films

Silicon carbide films were deposited on Si wafers (at room temperature and 150°C) by XeCl laser (fluence 5 J/cm2, pulse duration 30 ns, repetition rate 10 Hz) ablation of Si in low pressure (0.25–6 mbar) CH4 atmosphere. The deposits were characterized by different diagnostic techniques (XRD, XPS, RBS, etc.). Polycrystalline stoichiometric silicon carbide films ∼ 1 μm thick were obtained under specific conditions after ∼ 104 laser pulses.