Weina Han

Continuous modulations of femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures and scanned line-widths on silicon by polarization changes

Large-area, uniform laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) are of wide potential industry applications. The continuity and processing precision of LIPSS are mainly determined by the scanning intervals of adjacent scanning lines. Therefore, continuous modulations of LIPSS and scanned line-widths within one laser scanning pass are of great significance. This study proposes that by varying the laser (800 nm, 50 fs, 1 kHz) polarization direction, LIPSS and the scanned line-widths on a silicon (111) surface can be continuously modulated with high precision. It shows that the scanned line-width reaches the maximum when the polarization direction is perpendicular to the scanning direction. As an application example, the experiments show large-area, uniform LIPSS can be fabricated by controlling the scanning intervals based on the one-pass scanned line-widths. The simulation shows that the initially formed LIPSS structures induce directional surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) scattering along the laser polarization direction, which strengthens the subsequently anisotropic LIPSS fabrication. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiments, which both support the conclusions of continuous modulations of the LIPSS and scanned line-widths.

Direct writing anisotropy on crystalline silicon surface by linearly polarized femtosecond laser

An interesting anisotropy phenomenon in femtosecond laser processing of crystalline silicon is revealed by changing the angle between the writing direction and the laser polarization. The experimental results indicate the surface patterning is dependent on the laser polarization direction, showing that it is beneficial to forming continuous, ordered, and better-controlled ripples when the writing direction is parallel to the laser polarization. The anisotropy is attributed mainly to the elliptical shape of the induced ripples. The formation mechanisms of the elliptical ripples are also discussed. This observation promotes the fabrication of self-assembled subwavelength structures, which is important for electro-optic devices.

Anisotropy modulations of femtosecond laser pulse induced periodic surface structures on silicon by adjusting double pulse delay

We demonstrate that the polarization-dependent anisotropy of the laser-induced periodic surface structure (LIPSS) on silicon can be adjusted by designing a femtosecond laser pulse train (800 nm, 50 fs, 1 kHz). By varying the pulse delay from 100 to 1600 fs within a double pulse train to reduce the deposited pulse energy, which weakens the directional surface plasmon polarition (SPP)-laser energy coupling based on the initial formed ripple structure, the polarization-dependent geometrical morphology of the LIPSS evolves from a nearly isotropic circular shape to a somewhat elongated elliptical shape. Meanwhile, the controllable anisotropy of the two-dimensional scanned-line widths with different directions is achieved based on a certain pulse delay combined with the scanning speed. This can effectively realize better control over large-area uniform LIPSS formation. As an example, we further show that the large-area LIPSS can be formed with different scanning times under different pulse delays.

Femtosecond laser induced tunable surface transformations on (111) Si aided by square grids diffraction

We report an extra freedom to modulate the femtosecond laser energy distribution to control the surface ablated structures through a copper-grid mask. Due to the reduced deposited pulse energy by changing the scanning speed or the pulse fluence, a sequential evolution of three distinctly different surface patterns with periodic distributions is formed, namely, striped ripple lines, ripple microdots, and surface modification. By changing the scanning speed, the number of the multiple dots in a lattice can be modulated. Moreover, by exploring the ablation process through the copper grid mask, it shows an abnormal enhanced ablation effect with strong dependence of the diffraction-aided fs laser ablated surface structures on polarization direction. The sensitivity shows a quasi-cosinusoid-function with a periodicity of π/2. Particularly, the connection process of striped ripple lines manifests a preferential formation direction with the laser polarization.

Polarization-dependent elliptical crater morphologies formed on a silicon surface by single-shot femtosecond laser ablation

Formation of the elliptical-shaped craters on a silicon surface is investigated comprehensively using a single shot of a femtosecond laser. It is observed that the ablation craters are elongated along the major axis of the polarization direction, while their orientation is parallel to the polarization direction. The ablation area grows and the morphology of the craters evolves from an ellipse to nearly a circle with increasing fluence. The underlying physical mechanism is revealed through numerical simulations that are based on the finite-difference time-domain technique. It is suggested that the initially formed craters or surface defects lead to the redistribution of the electric field on the silicon surface, which plays a crucial role in the creation of the elliptical-shaped craters. In addition, the field intensity becomes enhanced along the incident laser polarization direction, which determines the elliptical crater orientations.

Enhancing the expansion of a plasma shockwave by crater-induced laser refocusing in femtosecond laser ablation of fused silica

The dynamics of plasma and shockwave expansion during two femtosecond laser pulse ablation of fused silica are studied using a time-resolved shadowgraph imaging technique. The experimental results reveal that during the second pulse irradiation on the crater induced by the first pulse, the expansion of the plasma and shockwave is enhanced in the longitudinal direction. The plasma model and Fresnel diffraction theory are combined to calculate the laser intensity distribution by considering the change in surface morphology and transient material properties. The theoretical results show that after the free electron density induced by the rising edge of the pulse reaches the critical density, the originally transparent surface is transformed into a transient high-reflectivity surface (metallic state). Thus, the crater with a concave-lens-like morphology can tremendously reflect and refocus the latter part of the laser pulse, leading to a strong laser field with an intensity even higher than the incident intensity. This strong refocused laser pulse results in a stronger laser-induced air breakdown and enhances the subsequent expansion of the plasma and shockwave. In addition, similar shadowgraphs are also recorded in the single-pulse ablation of a concave microlens, providing experimental evidence for the enhancement mechanism.

Single-pulse femtosecond laser Bessel beams drilling of high-aspect-ratio microholes based on electron dynamics control

Microholes drilling has attracted extensive research efforts for its broad applications in photonics, microfluidics, optical fibers and many other fields. A femtosecond (fs) laser is a promising tool for high-precision materials processing with reduced recast/microcracks and minimized heat affected zones. But there remain many challenges in hole drilling using conventional fs laser with Gaussian beams, such as low aspect ratio and taper effects. We report small-diameter and high-aspect-ratio microholes with taper free drilling in PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) using single-pulse fs laser Bessel beams. Axicon is used to transform Gaussian beams into Bessel beams, which then irradiate in the sample by a telescope consisting of plano-convex lens and microscope objective. Using this technique, we enhance the aspect ratio of microholes by 55 times as compared with Gaussian beams. We attribute this high aspect ratio and high quality microholes formation to the unique spatial intensity distribution and propagation stability of Bessel beams, which can effectively adjust the transient localized electron density distribution leading to a long and uniform localized-interacted zone. By using the optimized pulse energy and focal depth position, the microholes diameter ranges between 1.4-2.1 μm and the aspect ratio can exceed 460. This efficient technique is of great potentials for fabrication of microphotonics devices and microfluidics.

Controllable Plasmonic Nanostructures induced by Dual-wavelength Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

We demonstrated an abnormal double-peak (annular shaped) energy deposition through dual-wavelength synthesis of the fundamental frequency (ω) and the second-harmonic frequency (2ω) of a femtosecond (fs) Ti:sapphire laser. The annular shaped distribution of the dual-wavelength fs laser was confirmed through real beam shape detection. This uniquely simple and flexible technique enables the formation of functional plasmonic nanostructures. We applied this double-peak fs-laser-induced dewetting effect to the controlled fabrication and precise deposition of Au nanostructures, by using a simple, lithography-free, and single-step process. In this process, the double-peak energy-shaped fs laser pulse induces surface patterning of a thin film followed by nanoscale hydrodynamic instability, which is highly controllable under specific irradiation conditions. Nanostructure morphology (shape, size, and distribution) modulation can be achieved by adjusting the laser irradiation parameters, and the subsequent ion-beam polishing enables further dimensional reduction and removal of the surrounding film. The unique optical properties of the resulting nanostructure are highly sensitive to the shape and size of the nanostructure. In contrast to a nanoparticle, the resonance-scattering spectrum of an Au nanobump exhibites two resonance peaks. These suggest that the dual-wavelength fs laser-based dewetting of thin films can be an effective means for the scalable manufacturing of patterned-functional nanostructures.

Controllable Si (100) micro/nanostructures by chemical-etching-assisted femtosecond laser single-pulse irradiation

In this study, silicon micro/nanostructures of controlled size and shape are fabricated by chemical-etching-assisted femtosecond laser single-pulse irradiation, which is a flexible, high-throughput method. The pulse fluence is altered to create various laser printing patterns for the etching mask, resulting in the sequential evolution of three distinct surface micro/nanostructures, namely, ring-like microstructures, flat-top pillar microstructures, and spike nanostructures. The characterized diameter of micro/nanostructures reveals that they can be flexibly tuned from the micrometer (∼2 μm) to nanometer (∼313 nm) scales by varying the laser pulse fluence in a wide range. Micro-Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are utilized to demonstrate that the phase state changes from single-crystalline silicon (c-Si) to amorphous silicon (a-Si) after single-pulse femtosecond laser irradiation. This amorphous layer with a lower etching rate then acts as a mask in the wet etching process. Meanwhile...