About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
MS&T26: Materials Science & Technology
|
| Symposium
|
Controlled Synthesis, Processing, and Applications of Structural and Functional Nanomaterials
|
| Presentation Title |
Combinatorial Thickness-Graded Film Growth Via Substrate Tilt Geometry in Pulsed Laser Deposition |
| Author(s) |
Nirmal Singh, Michele Tunesi, Vikas Reddy Paduri, Don A Lucca, Ritesh Sachan |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Nirmal Singh |
| Abstract Scope |
Pulsed laser deposition is a promising technique for controlled thin film synthesis. When combined with combinatorial approaches, Pulsed laser deposition enables high-throughput experimentation for accelerated materials discovery. In this work, we present a reproducible combinatorial strategy for achieving spatially controlled thickness gradients using a substrate-tilt geometry. This approach exploits the angular distribution of the laser-induced plasma plume, creating variations in target-substrate distance and resulting in thickness gradients. Using boron nitride as a model system, we investigate the influence of substrate tilt on thickness distribution. Atomic force microscopy results show a uniform film over a 10 mm × 10 mm region at 0° tilt, whereas at ±20° tilt it shows a linear, asymmetric thickness gradient. The approach is further extended to additional thin-film systems to demonstrate reproducibility. A cosine-power plume model is used to simulate thickness profiles, showing good agreement with experiments and guiding combinatorial thin-film design. |