Pulsed laser deposition of oxide thin films by the fifth harmonic of a Nd:Y3Al5O12 (Nd:YAG) laser

We report the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of anatase TiO2, LaAlO3, and La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 epitaxial thin films by a fifth-harmonic Nd:Y3Al5O12 (Nd:YAG) laser. High-quality anatase Ti0.996Nb0.004O2 epitaxial thin films were deposited and showed transparent conducting properties, with a maximum mobility of 94 cm2V−1s−1 at 80 K. These results are consistent with those obtained for films deposited by excimer lasers. Furthermore, we report the deposition of droplet-free flat LaAlO3 and La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 films. The latter films exhibited an insulator-to-metal transition at ∼240 K, accompanied by a large magnetoresistive effect, in agreement with previous studies using excimer lasers. These results indicate that the fifth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser may be a potential alternative to excimer lasers for PLD.