**Laser Ablation Applied for Synthesis of Thin Films: Insights into Laser Deposition Methods Laser Ablation Applied for Synthesis of Thin Films: Insights into Laser Deposition Methods**

Camelia Popescu, Gabriela Dorcioman and Camelia Popescu, Gabriela Dorcioman and Andrei C. Popescu

Andrei C. Popescu

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/65124

### **Abstract**

This chapter will focus on laser ablation applied for thin film deposition. The first thin films deposition method based upon laser ablation was pulsed laser deposition (PLD), that could produce thin films out of metals, ceramics and even temperature resistant organics. The need of depositing increasingly complex and delicate materials, lead to radical modifications of PLD and allowed other laser ablation methods to develop. If complex libraries are to be synthesized two or more plasmas will be mixed and the thin films will have a variable composition over surface. This technique is called Combina‐ torial PLD (CPLD).

PLD/CPLD are however limited when it comes to organic materials transfer, because the high intensity laser beam can damage them. Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) is a thin film deposition technique derived from PLD, able to transfer accurately fragile molecules from a target to a substrate, by using a frozen mix made of the material to be deposited and a protective buffer layer.

All these techniques will be discussed in detail with their advantages, drawbacks, influencing factors and applications, while relevant practical examples will be provided in order to make the information easily understandable for the new reader.

**Keywords:** laser ablation, pulsed laser deposition, matrix‐assisted pulsed laser evapo‐ ration, thin films, nanoparticles

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
