Abstract The technique of using a high power CO₂ laser to deposit films of SiO₂ was studied, and an attempt was made to dope the films with a metallic impurity. Resistivity and dielectric constants were measured to determine the quality of the undoped films and to establish the effect of doping. It was found that the laser evaporation technique yielded the best results when the target material was granular rather than solid and the substrate was heated above 300°F. The films produced were not...