Tantalum oxide film formation by excimer laser ablation

Amorphous tantalum oxide (TaOx) films have been formed by ArF excimer laser ablation of Ta2O5 in an O2/He atmosphere. The refractive indices of the films tend to decrease with an increase in the pressure of O2/He. At low pressures of O2/He below 12.6 Pa, the films are pin-hole free. At 32.6 Pa of O2/He, the deposits with larger sizes constitute the film. The surface image of the deposited films has been examined by atomic force microscopy.