Femtosecond laser crystallization of amorphous titanium oxide thin films

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate experimentally that crystalline phases appear in amorphous titanium oxide upon processing with ultrafast laser pulses. Amorphous titanium thin films were produced by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and exposed to femtosecond laser pulses. Formation of rutile phase was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Raman measurements and electron backscattering diffraction. A rang of processing parameters for the crystallization is reported and possible background mechanisms are discussed.