Plume propagation and Pt film growth during shadow-masked pulsed laser deposition in a buffer Ar gas

• Effect of mask on nanostructure of pulsed laser deposited Pt films was investigated.
• The experimental data were compared with results of modeling.
• Model combines simulations of plume expansion in gas, deposition and film growth.

Shadow-masked pulsed laser deposition (SMPLD) enables the preparation of films that contain none of the droplets that are normally formed in laser irradiation of the target. The platinum (Pt) film produced by SMPLD was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) of helium ions. The film thickness distribution across the substrate surface took the shape of a simple crater, and the film thickness on the crated “bottom” (center of the shadow area) was approximately 5 times less than that on the “mound” (edge of the shadow area). Monte Carlo collision (MCC) modeling of the laser plume movement during SMPLD was performed to clarify the role of the mask in the formation of the Pt films. The dynamics of the Pt atoms in the laser plume was studied using the vacuum deposition method through a narrow slit onto a rapidly displaced substrate, augmented by RBS measurements of the deposited film thickness along the substrate movement direction. The ionic flux was specifically measured using an ion probe. MСС simulation allowed the changes in the basic parameters of the deposited atom stream to be evaluated with the use of a mask. Comparison of the experimental and calculated distribution of the Pt film indicated that the best correlation was observed using the interpenetration model of the plume and buffer gas (argon, Ar) accompanied by elastic collisions of Pt atoms with the Ar atoms using the variable hard sphere model. Atomic flux models were utilized to imitate the growth of individual Pt crystals using the kinetic Monte Carlo method. In the SMPLD case, the root mean square roughness of the model crystal surface increased by ∼10% and the concentration of vacancies increased by ∼4% compared with the model crystal obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The surface topography of the experimental Pt films was defined by the nanocrystal nature of their structure. The use of a mask promoted the growth of relatively large nanocrystals and, thus, an increase in the surface roughness in AFM scans on the submicron scale.