Please consider attending the following: MATERIALS ENGINEERING SEMINAR "Role of a Reactive Oxygen Background Pressure during Pulsed Laser Deposition of Oxide Thin Films" By Robynn-Lynne Paldi Purdue MSE Ph.D. Preliminary Exam Advisor: Professor Haiyan Wang ABSTRACT Oxide thin films are highly attractive for applications ranging from water splitting to optoelectronics because of their unique functional optical, electrical, and physical properties. Control of these properties is achievable by morphology and oxygen stoichiometry tuning. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) gained considerable attention in the 1980s as a tool for deposition of high quality, stoichiometric oxide films after it was utilized to grow YBCO superconducting films. Since then, this technique has become the workhorse of the oxide research community because it allows for deposition in high oxygen background pressure. This review discusses the effect of an oxygen background pressure during pulsed laser deposition on oxide film morphology and stoichiometry and how it can be utilized to control them. Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 Time: 8:30 A.M. Place: ARMS 1028