  A new method for continuous compositional-spread (CCS) thin-film fabrication
based on pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) is introduced. This approach is based on
a translation of the substrate heater and the synchronized firing of the
excimer laser, with the deposition occurring through a slit-shaped aperture.
Alloying is achieved during film growth (possible at elevated temperature) by
the repeated sequential deposition of sub-monolayer amounts. Our approach
overcomes serious shortcomings in previous in-situ implementations of CCS based
on sputtering or PLD, in particular the variations of thickness across the
compositional spread and the differing deposition energetics as function of
position. While moving-shutter techniques are appropriate for PLD-approaches
yielding complete spreads on small substrates (i.e. small as compared to
distances over which the deposition parameters in PLD vary, typically about 1
cm), our method can be used to fabricate samples that are large enough for
individual compositions to be analyzed by conventional techniques, including
temperature-dependent measurements of resistivity and dielectric and magnetic
and properties (i.e. SQUID magnetometry). Initial results are shown for spreads
of (Sr,Ca)RuO$_3$.
