Abstract
Abstract Femtosecond laser direct writing is widely exploited in surface periodic structures processing. However, this technique still faces challenges in obtaining high surface homogeneity and flexible morphology controllability. In this study, a flexible and efficient approach has been proposed to fabricate highly homogeneous and controllable nanogratings on silicon via chemical etching-assisted femtosecond laser modification. By precisely manipulating the laser-material interaction process, alternating amorphous-crystalline nanofringes are generated when employing femtosecond laser scanning over a Si sample, with almost no material removal. Following auxiliary chemical etching, highly homogeneous nanograting structures are obtained, and the morphology of the nanogratings can be flexibly managed through precisely controlling the duration of the etching process. Complex cross-scale patterns with remarkable structural colors that are visible under indoor light illumination are readily achieved on the sample surfaces exploiting our method. In addition, compared with traditional methods for laser-induced periodic surface structures, the fabrication efficiency is considerably improved. Our processing procedure offers potential applications in the fields of optics, nanoelectronics, and mechatronics.
Highlights
Photolithography provides a common method for processing grating structures [1]
Highly homogeneous nanograting structures are obtained, and the morphology of the nanogratings can be flexibly managed through precisely controlling the duration of the etching process
Plenty of works have been reported to explain the formation mechanism of Laser-induced periodic surface structure (LIPSS), and a widely accepted definition is the interference between the incident laser beam and surface plasmon polaritons (SPP), which induces local ablation of the material and forms LIPSS [7,8,9,10]
Summary
Photolithography provides a common method for processing grating structures [1]. the use of photoresist makes the process complicated. A flexible and efficient approach has been proposed to fabricate nanogratings on silicon with high homogeneity and controllability via chemical etching-assisted femtosecond laser modification. This method involves the construction of amorphous-crystalline nanofringes where crystalline silicon is transformed to amorphous silicon by precisely managing the femtosecond laser-material interaction process in the first step. Highly homogeneous and controllable nanograting structures can be flexibly produced on silicon due to the regular arrangement of laser-induced amorphous-crystalline nanofringes and the exact adjustment of subsequent chemical etching operation, which would serve as a complementary method to conventional lithography methods
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