Metal deposition with femtosecond light pulses at atmospheric pressure

Abstract

Femtosecond pulses of 400 nm light have been used to deposit Cr from adsorbed layers of Cr(CO)6 on both transparent and absorbing substrates, in air. Highly reflective Cr metal lines were deposited on fused silica substrates with linewidths as small as 200 nm and smaller still for Cr deposition on Au substrates. Metal deposition results from a multiphoton dissociation process which decomposes the metal hexacarbonyl in the adsorbed layer. Deposition of subsequent Cr layers reveals a change in the dissociation mechanism.