Particulate Reduction in Pulsed Laser Deposition of Complex Metal

Student's name: Ryan Woolaver Name of Home institution: Pennsylvania State University NNCI Site: ShyNE @ Northwestern University REU Principal Investigator: Professor Vinayak Dravid, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University REU Mentor: Dr. Bruce Buchholz, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University Abstract: Thin films made by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) have a wide variety of applications. However, during the deposition process, particulates can be produced and incorporated into the film. These particulates generally have a negative effect on the film properties and can lower the uniformity of the films. This work aims to determine the optimized PLD process to reduce target damage and particulate contamination using a model system, lithium manganese nickel cobalt oxide (LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2, NMC811). This system is of special interest because it has applications in batteries and would benefit from films with less particulates. Although many means of reducing particulates exist in the literature, this study focuses on three methods that do not require considerable equipment modification or capital outlay: Target usage/polishing; Laser fluence; Variation of pulse orientation, relative to target, during film deposition by target rastering. We hope that these results will allow for further research in the applications of the films grown by pulsed laser deposition.