Iridium thin films deposited via pulsed laser deposition

High purity Ir thin films for future applications as transition-edge sensors were deposited on Si (100) via pulsed laser deposition. The iridium deposition rate was investigated and found to have a high value with the pulsed laser power higher than 4.2x109 W/cm2. At this laser intensity range, the PLD Ir films were deposited at substrate temperature ranging from 100 to 700°C. Ir thin films\u27 characteristics were investigated at both room temperature and low temperature with the emphasis on study of the effect of the substrate temperature during deposition on the structure and morphology of the films.The PLD films exhibited a (110) preferentially oriented polycrystalline structure. Their average grain size increased from about 30 to 110 nm as the deposition temperature was raised from 100 to 600°C. With a 700°C substrate temperature the grain size jumped to 500 nm. Iridium silicide was found in the film deposited at 700°C substrate temperature. This indicated a critical deposition temperature between 600 and 700°C.A 50 mK platform was built for low temperature measurements. At low temperature, the Residual Resistance Ratio (RRR) of the Ir thin films had a typical value of 1.50. A typical transition curve of the film showed a transition temperature higher and wider than expected