Mesoscopic study of laser absorption by a transparent ceramic

Abstract

The understanding of the processes occurring on the target in pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is crucial for a fast optimisation of the deposition parameters in order to obtain high quality thin films. Phenomenon occurring in the target like the ejection of large particulates that deposit on the substrate or the formation of a rough cone shaped morphology that affect the deposition process cannot be understood in the framework of atomistic simulations, since the processes involve very large volumes. Integration of the heat equations does not seem to be the appropriate approach for the study of PLD, since it ignores the actual ways by which the energy is transferred to the target and transported through it. Mesoscopic modelling provide solutions in an intermediate scale where both results from atomistic studies and methods characteristic of macroscopic modelling are used. We are developing a mesoscopic model for PLD. In this paper, we show the results for the evaporation of a transparent material in which only structural defects can absorb light. The preliminary results show that the generated electric fields play a dramatic role in the process.