Deposition of MgF2 Thin Films by Pulsed Laser Ablation Technique

In this paper, we report the successful growth of MgF2 thin films on Si and sapphire (Al2O3) substrates at room temperature by direct laser ablation of a pure MgF2 target. The irradiations were performed at high vacuum (10-5 Pa) using the forth harmonic of a Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) laser (λ = 266 nm, τFWHM = 7 ns) with energy density of about 10 J/cm2. Uniform films, with a good adhesion on the substrate were obtained. The average ablation and deposition rates resulted to be 1.1 μg/pulse and 0.03 Å/pulse, respectively. Different diagnostic techniques were used to study the morphology and chemical composition of deposited films