Laser induced damage properties for HfO₂ thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition

In this paper, ALD was used to deposit HfO2 single layer films with organic and inorganic precursors at 100, 200 and 300 ℃, respectively. Optical properties such as film absorption, refractive index and microstructure were investigated. Especially, laser damage properties as a key property for thin films used as laser system components were analyzed using 1-on-1 measurement method. Laser damage morphologies were analyzed by scan electron microscope (SEM). For the HfO2 thin films deposited with different process parameters, the damage was mainly caused by film absorption and crystallization. When the HfCl4 precursor was used at 100 ℃, HfO2 films had the least absorption and the best LIDT (about 31.8 J/cm2, 1064 nm, 3 ns), which was the best result as reported.