The influence of plasma dynamics on the growth of Sm0.55Nd0.45NiO3 solid solution during pulsed laser deposition

Abstract We report on the presence of an interesting cross-correlation among the deposition parameters, which are usually overlooked in the usual empirical approach used by pulsed laser deposition growers. The fast intensified-charge-coupled-device (ICCD) photography imaging studies of the plasma generated by the KrF excimer laser ablation of Sm 1− x Nd x NiO 3 at x =0.45 in the presence of oxygen background gases at different pressures is reported. The experimentally determined behaviours are compared with the predictions of an analytical model, which gives a complete description of the expansion of the plume and with some recent results reported in the literature. Evidence of the strong influence of the expansion plasma regime was found, which showed that it is not simply related to the overall reactive gas content. Our findings demonstrate that the optimisation of the pulsed laser deposition parameters, such as gas pressure, should be performed also taking into account the chemical pressure induced by the substrate nature. The analysis of the experimental results allowed us to estimate the average deposition oxygen pressure for Sm 0.55 Nd 0.45 NiO 3 in the typical range used for Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) of complex oxides, showing that the higher the deposition pressure, the better the crystallinity.