Growth optimization of CeCoIn5 thin films via pulsed laser deposition

We developed an optimization process of the pulsed laser deposition method to grow epitaxial CeCoIn5 thin films on MgF2 substrates. The effects of different deposition parameters on film growth were extensively studied by analyzing the measured X-ray diffraction patterns. All the deposited films contained small amounts of CeIn3 impurity phase and misoriented CeCoIn5, for which the c-axis of the unit cell is perpendicular to the normal vector of the substrate surface. The deposition temperature, target composition, laser energy density, and repetition rate were found effective in the formation of (00l)-oriented CeCoIn5 as well as the undesired phases such as CeIn3, misoriented CeCoIn5 along the (112) and (h00). Our results provide a set of deposition parameters that produce high-quality epitaxial CeCoIn5 thin films with sufficiently low amounts of impurity phases and can serve as a reference for future studies to optimize the deposition process further.