Zirconium carbide thin films deposited by pulsed laser ablation

A study of the laser ablation and deposition of zirconium carbide has been carried out in our laboratory. The target has been vaporised by a doubled Nd:YAG laser and the ablation plume has been characterised by time-of-flight mass spectrometry, emission spectroscopy and ultrafast imaging performed by an Intensified Coupled Charge Device (ICCD). The results show a single ablation mechanism in the whole range of laser fluence used in the experiments (0.5-15 J/cm2) and this is quite different from the case of TiC. The gas phase data are confirmed by the analysis of the films deposited on oriented silicon. In fact, by X-ray diffraction and subsequent XPS analysis, their composition is fluence independent leading to films with constant characteristics on a large range of experimental conditions. The difference between ZrC and TiC ablation mechanisms may be explained in terms of chemical-physical properties and thermodynamic considerations which can also clarify the gas phase composition.