Production of metal oxide thin films by pulsed arc molecular beam deposition

Deposition for the first time of titanium oxide, cerium oxide, and tin oxide thin films by reactive pulsed arc molecular beam deposition is reported. To produce these thin films, oxygen gas was pulsed between a pair of electrodes situated within a vacuum chamber. A 20 μf storage capacitor was discharged between the electrode pair during the gas pulse. A substrate was placed inline with the oxygen pulse, on which an oxide coating of the electrode material was then coated. The films were analyzed by both scanning electron microscopy and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. There was a noted strong dependence of the film surface quality on the melting temperature of the starting electrode material.