Effects of High-power Argon Excimer Laser Irradiation on Polycrystalline Silicon Carbide Mirrors

Abstract

The effects of an argon excimer laser irradiation are studied on silicon carbide films which are deposited on sintered and pressed silicon carbide substrates by a low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. The SiC films consist of about 15μm size crystallites highly oriented in such a way that the surfaces are parallel to (110). X-ray photoelectron and Raman scattering spectroscopic examination show that amorphous silicon is precipitated in the surface layers of silicon carbide films by the laser irradiation. The precipitation mechanism is discussed.