Thermal laser evaporation of elements from across the periodic table

The authors propose and demonstrate that thermal laser evaporation can be applied to all solid, nonradioactive elements in the periodic table. By depositing thin films, they achieve growth rates exceeding 1 Å/s with output laser powers less than 500 W using identical beam parameters for many different elements. The source temperature is found to vary linearly with the laser power within the examined power range. High growth rates are possible using free-standing sources for most of the elements tested, eliminating the need for crucibles.