  Crystallization of thin film materials by exploiting laser induced
crystallization has been advancing for the past four decades. This unique thin
film technique has been predominantly used in processing thin film materials
made of a single chemical element; however, harnessing this technique to extend
its use for thin film materials containing multiple chemical elements (e.g.,
metal oxides) unlocks applications currently not accessible. In this study,
laser crystallization of a Cu2O strip was demonstrated. A continuous-wave laser
diode with a micrometer-scale chevron-shaped beam profile (micro chevron laser
beam) was used to crystallize CuO thin films covered with an amorphous carbon
(a-C) cap layer, deposited on fused silica substrates. Electron backscatter
diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and UV-Vis
spectroscopy were used to investigate the crystallinity and optical properties
of the Cu2O thin films revealing their unique characteristics associated with
the crystallization process.
