Thermal Laser Epitaxy

Complex-oxide heterostructures are a leading example of quantum-matter heterostructures that open a new arena of solid-state physics. For the scientific development of this field and for a range of potential applications, the growth of high-purity heterostructures is required. We have developed a new thin-film deposition technique that is especially suited to the growth of oxide heterostructures with atomic precision. Thermal laser epitaxy uses chemical elements as sources which are evaporated with continuous-wave lasers. The lasers’ virtually arbitrary power density allows for the evaporation of almost all elements of the periodic table in the same setup. We demonstrate this by showing elemental metal films of a large range of elements; from low-vapour-pressure elements like W and Ta to high-vapour-pressure elements like S and Bi. We will discuss the benefits of thermal laser epitaxy for high-purity deposition of complex-oxide materials and heterostructures with almost all elements from the periodic table.