Novel Materials Synthesis Using an Intense Pulsed Ion Beam

Abstract

ABSTRACTInitial experiments on the evaporation from metallic and ceramic targets using a pulsed light ion beam source is reported. The source is an intense ion beam produced by a 1.2 MV, 300 kJ Anaconda generator which has been fitted with an extraction diode.Beam fluences of 10–20 J/cm2 give a deposition rate of about 30–50 nm per shot, for both brass and YBa2Cu3O7-x (1–2–3) targets. This is about 1000 times greater than comparable rates from pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Single-shot ablated 1–2–3 films, deposited on Si, were analyzed using RBS; the measured stoichiometry was close to 1–2–3 in favorable cases, but shot-to-shot reproducibili ty was poor.Approximately 1% of the available ion beam energy was utilized for these initial experiments. The potential for producing large area coatings from multi-cation targets and nanophase powders using pulsed ion beam deposition will be discussed.