Chromium carbide thin films deposited by ultra-short pulse laser deposition

Pulsed laser deposition performed by a laser with a pulse duration of 250 fs has been used to deposit films from a Cr(3)C(2) target. Due to the different processes involved in the laser ablation when it is performed by an ultra-short pulse source instead of a conventional short pulse one, it has been possible to obtain in vacuum films containing only one type of carbide, Cr(3)C(2), as shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. On the other hand, Cr(3)C(2) is not the only component of the films, since a large amount of amorphous carbon is also present. The films, deposited at room temperature, are amorphous and seem to be formed by the coalescence of a large number of particles with nanometric size. The film composition can be explained in terms of thermal evaporation from particles ejected from the target.