Real Time Monitoring of Ionic Species Generated from Laser-Ablated Pb<TEX>$(Zr_{0.52}Ti_{0.48})O_3$</TEX> Target Using Pulsed-Field Time-Of-Flight Mass spectrometer

The characteristics of the ablation plume generated by 532 nm Nd: YAG laser irradiation of a Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) target have been investigated using a pulsed-field time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOFMS). The relative abundance of O+, Ti+, Zr+, Pb+, TiO+, and ZrO+ ions has been measured and discussed. TiO+ and ZrO+ ions were also found to be particularly stable within the laser ablation plasma with respect to PbO+ species. The behavior of the temporal distributions of each ionic species was studied as a function of the delay time between the laser shot and the ion extraction pulse. The most probable velocity of each ablated ion is estimated to be Vmp=1.1-1.6x 105 cm/s at a laser fluence of 1.2 J/cm2, which is typically employed for the thin film deposition of PZT. The TOF distribution of Ti+ and Zr+ ions shows a trimodal distribution with one fast and two slow velocity components. The fast velocity component (6.8x 10' cm/s) appears to consist of directly ablated species via nonthermal process. The second component, originated from the thermal evaporation process, has a characteristic velocity of 1.4-1.6 x 105 cm/s. The slowest component (1.2 x 105 cm/s) is composed of a dissociation product formed from the corresponding oxide ion.