Temporal and spatial evolution of Si atoms in plasmas produced by a nanosecond laser ablating silicon carbide crystals

Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was used to study the evolution behavior of the neutral Si atoms in the plasma produced by nanosecond pulsed-laser beam irradiating on SiC crystal targets. The OES measurements indicated that the electron temperature and density in the plasma had maximum values around a region about 2mm from the target surface. Based on the temporal and spatial evolution of the spectral line at 633.19 nm originating from excited Si atoms, it was found that these Si atoms have short decay times and long range spatial distribution in vacuum. At the initial growth stage of SiC thin films using pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique, these Si atoms were found possibly to arrive at the Si substrate to form defects near the SiC/Si interface. By comparing the OES result measured in vacuum and that measured in ambient air, it was deduced that by properly adjusting the background gas species and pressure, the quality of the films prepared by PLD technique may be improved.