Parameters that control pulsed electron beam ablation of materials and film deposition processes

Conditions for ablation of materials and film deposition were analyzed for a pulsed (∼100 ns) electron beam produced by a channel-spark source. For dielectric materials, we found the existence of an optimal source voltage related to the saturation of the pulse current. Our analysis indicates a larger ablated mass, smaller optimal deposition rates (∼0.25 A/pulse), and a larger optimal target to substrate distance relative to pulsed laser deposition process.