Huaijun Sun

Mechanisms in fs-laser ablation in fused silica

A theoretical model is proposed to describe the microscopic processes involved in the ablation in fused silica induced by femtosecond-laser pulse. Conduction-band electron (CBE) can absorb laser energy, the rate is calculated by quantum mechanical method and classical method. CBE is produced via photoionization (PI) and impact ionization (II). The PI and II rates are calculated by using the Keldysh theory and double-flux model, respectively. Besides the CBE production, we investigate laser energy deposition and its distribution. The equation of energy diffusion in physical space is resolved numerically. Taking energy density E-dep=54 kJ/cm(3) as the criterion, we calculate damage threshold, ablation depth, and ablation volumes. It is found that if energy diffusion is considered, energy density near sample surface is reduced to 1/10, damage threshold is enhanced more than 30%, ablation depth is increased by a factor of 10. Our theoretical results agree well with experimental measurements. Several ultrafast phenomena in fused silica are also discussed

The ultrafast excitation processes in femtosecond laser-induced damage in dielectric omnidirectional reflectors

A pump and probe system is developed, where the probe pulse duration τ is less than 60fs while the pump pulse is stretched up to 150–670fs. The time-resolved excitation processes and damage mechanisms in the omnidirectional reflectors SiO2∕TiO2 and ZnS∕MgF2 are studied. It is found that as the pump pulse energy is higher than the threshold value, the reflectivity of the probe pulse decreases rapidly during the former half, rather than around the peak of the pump pulse. A coupled dynamic model based on the avalanche ionization (AI) theory is used to study the excitation processes in the sample and its inverse influences on the pump pulse. The results indicate that as pulse duration is longer than 150fs, photoionization (PI) and AI both play important roles in the generation of conduction band electrons (CBEs); the CBE density generated via AI is higher than that via PI by a factor of 102–104. The theory explains well the experimental results about the ultrafast excitation processes and the threshold fluences.

Effects of B and Si contents on glass-forming ability and soft-magnetic properties in (Co0.89Fe0.057Nb0.053)100−x(B0.8Si0.2)x glassy alloys

The effects of B and Si contents on the glass-forming ability (GFA) and soft-magnetic properties of (Co0.89Fe0.057Nb0.053)100−x(B0.8Si0.2)x (x=22–30) alloys were investigated. The thermal stability of the supercooled liquid increased with increasing the B and Si contents from x=24 to 28, and accompanying the decreases of liquidus temperature of alloys. As a result, The (Co0.89Fe0.057Nb0.053)100−x(B0.8Si0.2)x bulk glassy alloys with diameters up to 3.5 mm were synthesized in the composition range of x=24–28. In addition to high GFA, the Co-based glassy alloys exhibit excellent soft-magnetic properties as well, i.e., moderate saturation magnetization of 0.51–0.72 T, low coercive force of 0.4–1.5 A/m, and high initial permeability of 22 340–29 570 at 1 kHz under a field of 1 A/m.