Synthesis and surface characteristics of CeTbO3+d induced by femtosecond laser irradiation

This work describes the use of focused, high-intensity light from a Ti:sapphire laser that generates femtosecond pulses to irradiate mixture of CeO2 andTb4O7 underambient conditions.The prepared sampleswere investigated bymeans of X-ray diffraction (XRD),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). XRD and XPS measurement results demonstrated that solid solution CeTbO3+d with cubic fluorite structure has been synthesized on the irradiated target surface. SEMmicrographs showed that the ultra-short laser irradiation resulted in the formation of foamy structure and spherical particles with size varying from about 30 to 200 nm. The formation mechanism has been discussed in detail.