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. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.