Materials Science Forum, Vol.423-4, 573-575, 2003
A new application of pulsed laser deposition to produce functional graded material thin films
A new fabricating method of functional graded material (FGM) thin films characterized by continuous component distribution, based on dual-beam pulse laser deposition, was proposed in this paper. A controlled lens system splits one beam laser from one excimer laser into two beams, which are focused on two different targets in a depositing chamber, respectively. Two plasma plumes mix and deposit together on same substrate. The component of thin film changes as the intensity ratio of two beams changes. Therefore, FGM thin films with continuous graded component, instead of stepped gradient, are obtained. This method has great advantages especially for very thin FGM films, also a great potential for fabrication of composite thin films.