Abstract
Silica grids with micron to sub-micron mesh sizes and wire diameters of 50 nm are fabricated on fused silica substrates. They are formed by single-pulse structured excimer laser irradiation of a UV-absorbing silicon suboxide (SiO x ) coating through the transparent substrate. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) superstrate (cover layer) coated on top of the SiO x film prior to laser exposure serves as confinement for controlled laser-induced structure formation. At sufficiently high laser fluence, this process leads to grids consisting of a periodic loop network connected to the substrate at regular positions. By an additional high-temperature annealing, the residual SiO x is oxidized, and a pure SiO2 grid is obtained.PACS81.07.-b; 81.07.Gf; 81.65.Cf
Highlights
There are a lot of approaches to treat substrate-bound thin films by pulsed lasers in order to modify the structure, morphology, or functionality of these layers
We describe a method utilizing the spaceselective laser-induced film detachment together with some morphology change due to heating and surface tension to create substrate-bound grid structures with micron to nanometer dimensions
A liquid or a polymer layer in contact with the surface to be ablated serves for smooth, contiguous bulges around the ablation holes instead of irregular splashes observed without this confinement [7]
Summary
There are a lot of approaches to treat substrate-bound thin films by pulsed lasers in order to modify the structure, morphology, or functionality of these layers. If the ablation/transfer is incomplete in that sense that the layer detaches from the substrate in some area, but the film is still not perforated, blister formation is observed [5]. We describe a method utilizing the spaceselective laser-induced film detachment together with some morphology change due to heating and surface tension to create substrate-bound grid structures with micron to nanometer dimensions. The fabrication of such grids from silica material relies on the combination of two fundamental conditions of laser ablation
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