Pulsed Laser Deposition of thin films by means of Nd:YAG laser source operating at its 1st harmonics : recent approaches and advances

Quantum materials are central for the development of novel functional systems that are often based on interface specific phenomena. Fabricating controlled interfaces between quantum materials requires to adopt a flexible growth technique capable to synthesize different materials within a single-run deposition process with high control of structure, stoichiometry, and termination. Among the available thin film technologies, Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) allows controlling the growth of diverse materials at the level of single atomic layers. In PLD the atomic species are supplied trough an ablation process of a stoichiometric target either in form of polycrystalline powders or of single crystal. No carrier gases are needed in the deposition process. The ablation process is compatible with a wide range of background pressure. We present results of thin film growth by Pulsed Laser Deposition obtained by using a Nd:YAG infrared (IR) pulsed laser source operating at its 1st harmonics. With respect to the traditional PLD systems - based on excimer KrF UV-lasers - optimal conditions for the growth of thin films and heterostructures are reached at large target-to-substrate distance. Merits and limitations of this approach for growing oxide and not-oxide thin films are discussed. The merits of Nd:YAG laser to grow very high quality thin films suggest the possibility of implementing compact in-situ setups e.g. integrated with analytical instrumentation under UHV conditions.