ULTRAFINE STRUCTURES BY EVAPORATION FROM LIQUID SOURCES

A DUAL LASER BEAM TECHNIQUE INVOLVING LASER EVAPORATION OF ALIQUID TARGET WILL BE DEVELOPED TO DEPOSIT THIN FILMS OF INDIUM TIN OXIDE (ITO) ON SILICON. ITO IS EXCELLENT FOR USEIN HIGH SPEED ELECTRONIC DEVICES, WHILE SILICON IS AN OPTIMAL SUBSTRATE DUE TO AVAILABILITY OF HIGH PURITY, LOW COST, LARGE AREA WAFERS. ATTEMPTS WILL BE MADE TO UNDERSTAND THE PHYSICS OF LASER EVAPORATION THAT WILL FACILITATE THE PRODUCTION OF STRUCTURES WITH A SPATIAL ORDEROF NANOMETERS. PROCESSING WILL BE INVESTIGATED AS A FUNCTION OF THE POWER DENSITY. THE AS-DEPOSITED MICROSTRUCTURES WILL BE CHARACTERIZED AND CORRELATED TO THE PROCESS VARIABLES. THE USE OF LASERS ALSO ENHANCES THE PROBABILITY OF EITHER COMPUTER OR ROBOTIC CONTROL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A RAPID GROWTH PROCESS FOR DEPOSITING ITO ON SI.