Pulsed laser deposition of metallic multilayers: the influence of laser power on microstructure

Multilayers of Co and Cu on Si(111) substrates have been produced by pulsed laser deposition at the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (532 nm). The effect of varying the laser power on the film microstructure has been investigated using grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity measurements. Quantitative analysis of the reflectivity curves indicates that higher laser powers are associated with greater intermixing at the Co/Cu interfaces. Offset scans indicate that there is conformal roughness. The deposition process introduces some droplets into the layers, principally of Cu.