Deposition of iron pyrite via pulsed electron ablation

Pulsed electron beam ablation is a relatively novel deposition technique with some unique advantages, such as ease for scale-up and low operating cost. In this work, we report on the preparation of iron pyrite (FeS₂) on 1.5-cm² glass substrates through the pulsed electron beam ablation of a single synthetic target. The 40–120-nm-thin films were deposited at a substrate temperature ranging from room temperature to 250 ^°C and under a background argon atmosphere of 3.5 mTorr. Different characterization techniques have been used to analyze the deposited films, such as grazing-angle x-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), visible Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and visible optical reflectance spectroscopy. The findings show that iron pyrite can be obtained at high temperature in association with other phases.