Magnesium Oxide MgO PLD Target

Introduction to the Properties of MgO

MgO is a versatile material with a wide band gap (7.7eV) known for its high transparency, dielectric and ferromagnetic properties. It is widely used in thin film form for various devices and investigations deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD).

Water absorption in MgO

MgO is a hygroscopic material, meaning it readily absorbs moisture from the air. It is important to store MgO in a desiccator or a glove box after opening from its vacuum sealed packaging to prevent moisture contamination.

Crystal Structure of MgO

The crystal structure of MgO is cubic and its lattice parameters are a=b=c= 4.212 Å

Dielectric Properties of MgO

MgO has a high dielectric constant, making it useful for various applications in electronics and thin film semiconductor devices.

Growth of MgO by PLD

MgO can be grown epitaxially on a range of substrates with good lattice matching, e.g. SrTiO3 as well as Si which has a much larger mismatch (around 20%). There have been various studies on the morphology of the films with temperature, pressure and laser fluence.

Laser Fluence for Pulsed Laser Deposition of MgO

As MgO has a wide band gap of 7.7eV, PLD growth using a traditional KrF 248 nm can be slow and lead to thermal heating of the target and droplet formation in the resultant film. ArF excimers are preferred if available. If using 248 nm laster than use a high energy density of around 3 J/cm2 for better results.