Development of a simultaneous dual-ablation apparatus and preparation of compositionally gradient (Sr(1-x)Eu(x))Al2O4 thin films.

A simultaneous dual-ablation apparatus using a pulsed laser was developed for preparation of compositionally gradient thin films to explore novel compounds. Unlike other compositionally gradient thin film preparation apparatus, two targets rotated by motors were installed in and two beams splitted from a single laser were introduced to a vacuum chamber. With this apparatus, a (Sr(1-x)Eu(x))Al2O4 compositionally gradient thin film was prepared. The phase and the photoluminescence properties were investigated. The Eu optimal composition for the emission intensity in the (Sr(1-x)Eu(x))Al2O4 system was found to be x=0.06.