A pulsed laser technique for an evaluation of the spall resistance of sputtered oxide films: diagnostic by interferometric probing

Abstract A pulsed laser technique, based on conventional laser acoustics testing, has been developed to define the spall resistance of sputtered oxide films on a metallic target. Direct irradiation of the coated side of the sample generates an acoustic source at the inner film–metal interface. A model of the laser-induced epicentral displacements at the opposite side that takes into account the confining effect of the coating has been proposed to evaluate the critical laser irradiance corresponding to progressive damages at the inner film–metal interface, i.e. interface delamination, film spallation and film expulsion, respectively. The behavior of Al 2 O 3 and ZrO 2 films deposited by PVD …