Femtosecond Laser Irradiation Research Articles

A study of incubation effects in femtosecond laser irradiation of silicon and copper

A study of incubation effects in femtosecond laser irradiation of silicon and copper

Optimised diamond to graphite conversion via a metastable sp1-bonded carbon chain formation under an ultra-short femtosecond (30 fs) laser irradiation

An application of an ultra-short femto-second (fs) pulsed laser (30 fs, 800 nm, 1 kHz) radiation under a simultaneously varied laser fluence (0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 J/cm2) and number of pulses (2000–32,000 pulses per irradiation site) to process diamond has been investigated to determine an optimal conversion of the diamond's tetrahedral sp3 phase into an aromatic sp2 phase with a high degree of crystallinity and without a formation of an sp2 olefinic fraction, thermal damage or an irradiation-induced surface cracking. The highest sp2 aromatic crystallinity and the most significant sp3-to-sp2 conversion efficiency in diamond was attained at 1.2 J/cm2 with 32,000 pulses. The sp3-to-sp2 phase transition was marked by a formation of a metastable carbon in the sp1 hybridisation (carbyne), evidenced by the characteristic Raman mode at ca. 2065 cm−1. Inclusions of covalently bound carbonyl (-CO) at ca. 1705 cm−1 were also observed on diamond under lower irradiation doses. Both the sp1 and carbonyl contributions resolved gradually as irradiation dose increased. Well-defined laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) (aka. nano-ripples) with a high spatial frequency distribution and periodicity of around 100 nm were observed forming in the irradiated regions on diamond owing to the interaction of the laser pulse with the surface plasmons; an ordered and homogeneous formation of LIPSS structures has been observed at 1.2 J/cm2 with 8000 pulses. The impact and implications of these findings on the design and development of future ‘all-carbon’ devices by means of a direct non-ablative fs laser processing of diamond are discussed.

Microsecond cell triple-sorting enabled by multiple pulse irradiation of femtosecond laser

Femtosecond-laser-assisted cell manipulation, as one of the high throughput cell sorting techniques, is tailored for single-step multiple sorting based on controllable impulsive force. In this paper, femtosecond laser pulses are focused within a pocket structure and they induce an impulse force acting on the flowing objects. The impulsive force is shown to be controllable by a new method to adjust the femtosecond pulse properties. This allows precise streamline manipulation of objects having various physical qualities (e.g., weight and volume). The pulse energy, pulse number, and pulse interval of the femtosecond laser are altered to determine the impulsive force strength. The method is validated in single cell or bead triple-sorting experiments and its capability to perform streamline manipulation in as little as 10 μs is shown. The shift profiles of the beads acting under the impulsive force are studied in order to better understand the sorting mechanism. Additionally, beads and cells with different fluorescence intensities are successfully detected and directed into different microchannels, with maximum success rates of 90% and 64.5%, respectively. To sum up, all results suggest that this method has the potential to sort arbitrary subpopulations by altering the number of femtosecond pulses and that it takes the first step toward developing a single-step multi-selective system.

High-performance antireflection nanostructure arrays on aluminum-doped zinc oxide film fabricated with femtosecond laser near-field processing

Transmittance is critical to the performance of optoelectronic devices, and the fabrication of nanostructure arrays with sizes and periods similar to wavelengths on optical surfaces can effectively reduce reflectance and increase transmittance. A method combining a femtosecond laser and the near-field effect of polystyrene (PS) microspheres to prepare integrated high-performance anti-reflective nanostructure arrays on aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) film was proposed in this study. The near-field effect of microspheres with different diameters on a laser light field for several laser wavelengths was simulated with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The simulation results showed that a 10-fold improvement of the intensity of a focused laser beam could be obtained with the combination of an 800-nm laser and 1-μm PS microspheres. Nano-craters on the surface of the AZO film were obtained with femtosecond laser irradiation. The depth and the area of these nano craters both increased with the increase of the laser fluences and tended toward saturation when the fluence went from 0.67 to 0.83 J/cm2. Facilitated by the gradient refractive index formed by the nano-craters, the transmittance of the sample treated with 0.83 J/cm2 increased by 8% in the 400–1100 nm band and even by 15% in the 400–600 nm band. The ablation mechanism was revealed by the time-resolved pump-probe technique, which proved that the nano-craters were formed by the phase explosion, and the smooth bottom with fine cracks was induced by the inhomogeneous resolidification of the superheated liquid phase. Our method could endow a photoelectric device with high-performance integrated anti-reflection capability, eliminating the need for additional anti-reflection coating.

Laser ablation of RB-SiC composite by femtosecond laser irradiation

Reaction-bonded silicon carbide composites (RB-SiC), consisting of SiC grains and Si matrix, have a complex ablation mechanism as two-phase composites under femtosecond laser irradiation. The ablation threshold of RB-SiC was calculated, which decreases (from 1.01 J/cm2 to 0.56 J/cm2) with increasing pulse number N and finally stabilized. At low fluence (F/Fth ≤ 5) and a low number of pulses, photochemical ablation dominates. For a higher number of pulses and high fluence (5 <F/Fth ≤ 50), photothermal ablation dominates with photochemical ablation. The results show that structures such as pits, convex, and holes exist on the surface of Crater I, while Laser-induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS), and condensation structures exist on the surface of Crater II. In both types of ablation craters, the SiC grain surface produces the Low Spatial Frequency LIPSS (LSFL) with a period of about 900 nm and the High Spatial Frequency LIPSS (HSFL) with a period of about 300 nm. Based on the surface morphology, microstructure, and physical phase analysis of the ablation craters, a preliminary model of the removal mechanism of the ablation craters by femtosecond laser irradiation was established. These findings are expected to provide theoretical and experimental support for the precision processing of RB-SiC by femtosecond laser.

Correction: Core–shell defective TiO2 nanoparticles by femtosecond laser irradiation with enhanced photocatalytic performance

Correction for ‘Core–shell defective TiO2 nanoparticles by femtosecond laser irradiation with enhanced photocatalytic performance’ by Bersu Bastug Azer et al., Mater. Adv., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ma00019b.

Ablation Characteristics and Material Removal Mechanism of CVD Single Crystal Diamond Under Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

Ablation Characteristics and Material Removal Mechanism of CVD Single Crystal Diamond Under Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

Femtosecond laser modified metal surfaces alter biofilm architecture and reduce bacterial biofilm formation.

Biofilm formation, or microfouling, is a basic strategy of bacteria to colonise a surface and may happen on surfaces of any nature whenever bacteria are present. Biofilms are hard to eradicate due to the matrix in which the bacteria reside, consisting of strong, adhesive and adaptive self-produced polymers such as eDNA and functional amyloids. Targeting a biofilm matrix may be a promising strategy to prevent biofilm formation. Here, femtosecond laser irradiation was used to modify the stainless steel surface in order to introduce either conical spike or conical groove textures. The resulting topography consists of hierarchical nano-microstructures which substantially increase roughness. The biofilms of two model bacterial strains, P. aeruginosa PA01 and S. aureus ATCC29423, formed on such nanotextured metal surfaces, were considerably modified due to a substantial reduction in amyloid production and due to changes in eDNA surface adhesion, leading to significant reduction in biofilm biomass. Altering the topography of the metal surface, therefore, radically diminishes biofilm development solely by altering biofilm architecture. At the same time, growth and colonisation of the surface by eukaryotic adipose tissue-derived stem cells were apparently enhanced, leading to possible further advantages in controlling eukaryotic growth while suppressing prokaryotic contamination. The obtained results are important for developing anti-bacterial surfaces for numerous applications.

The effect of enhanced heat transfer across metal-nonmetal interfaces subject to femtosecond laser irradiation.

The heat transfer across metal-nonmetal interfaces inevitably affects the femtosecond laser processing of thin metal films coated on nonmetal substrates. In the present work, a two-temperature model with a metal-nonmetal interface is employed to numerically investigate the heat transfer across a metal-nonmetal interface. A parallel-series thermal circuit is considered under the drastic electron-phonon nonequilibrium induced by femtosecond laser irradiation. The interfacial thermal resistance affects temporal evolutions of surface electron temperature and phonon temperature, as well as the optical response simulated by the Drude-Lorentz model. By inserting an interlayer and reducing the interfacial thermal resistance, the enhanced heat transfer across Au-Al2O3 and Au-Si interfaces is confirmed. More heat transfers from a metal to a nonmetal due to lower total interfacial thermal resistance, which reshapes the temperature distributions of metal-electrons, metal-phonons, and nonmetal-phonons. Consequently, the higher damage threshold of thin Au films and the lower sensitivity of damage threshold versus film thickness are determined. It implies that the heat transfer across metal-nonmetal interfaces is found to affect the transient thermal reflectivity detection and the repeatable femtosecond laser processing of thin metal films.

Electronic state evolution of oxygen-doped monolayer WSe2 assisted by femtosecond laser irradiation.

Electronic states are significantly correlated with chemical compositions, and the information related to these factors is especially crucial for the manipulation of the properties of matter. However, this key information is usually verified by after-validation methods, which could not be obtained during material processing, for example, in the field of femtosecond laser direct writing inside materials. Here, critical evolution stages of electronic states for monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe2) around the modification threshold (at a Mott density of ∼1013 cm-2) are observed by broadband femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, which is associated with the intense femtosecond-laser-assisted oxygen-doping mechanism. First-principles calculations and control experiments on graphene-covered monolayer WSe2 further confirm this modification mechanism. Our findings reveal a photochemical reaction for monolayer WSe2 under the Mott density condition and provide an electronic state criterion to in situ monitor the degrees of modification in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides during the femtosecond laser modification.

High-frequency processing effects on three commercial polymers with different thermal properties under femtosecond laser irradiation

The response of three of the most used commercial polymers (poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polypropylene (PP)) with different thermal properties under irradiation with high frequency (1 kHz-1 MHz) femtosecond (450 fs) multi-pulse (N=10-1500) laser at λ=515 (1.34 J/cm2) and 1030 (1.70 J/cm2) is reported. Thermal and ablative effects are observed after laser irradiations. The results are compared to a photothermal model that pretends to explain the heat accumulation effect of successive pulses irradiation. Thermal analyses (Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MDSC) and Thermogravimetry (TG)) are performed and utilized to explain the different behaviour of each polymer. Three different regimes (non-thermal, thermal and saturation) are identified and explained from the model and experimental results. A connection between ablation depth and simulated reached temperature is established. Further studies as micro-Raman analyses on the irradiated area and the dependence of damaged area on the repetition rate are being performed.

Real-time dynamic simulation of laser-induced N2 dissociation on two-dimensional graphene sheets.

Due to its relatively high inertness, nitrogen dissociation at ambient temperature and pressure has always been a challenging task. Plasmon driven photocatalysis has proved to be an effective method. Owing to their unique physical, chemical, and electronic properties, two-dimensional planar materials have become the most promising candidates to replace noble metal catalytic nitrogen reduction. In this study, real-time dynamics of N2 dissociation on graphene sheets under femtosecond laser irradiation was studied by using time-dependent density functional theory. We confirm that electrons generated by plasmon excitation of graphene transfer to the N2 molecular antibonding orbital and activate the N-N bond. The threshold of laser intensity of N2 dissociation can be effectively reduced by mixing CO molecules. This work provides basic insights for understanding the plasmon induced N2 activation process at the atomic scale and proves that graphene can be used as one of the candidate materials for N2 reduction photocatalysts with excellent performance.

Core–shell defective TiO2 nanoparticles by femtosecond laser irradiation with enhanced photocatalytic performance

Herein, the authors present a new defect formation mechanism related to the laser wavelength. Short pulse width lasers only modify the surface layer, resulting in core-shell defective TiO2. Unlike long pulse lasers, the bulk of particles remains unchanged.

NIR-II femtosecond laser ignites MXene as photoacoustic bomb for continuous high-precision tumor blasting.

Recently, photoacoustic (PA) cavitation-mediated therapy has become the focus of research owing to its advantage of inhibiting drug or radiation resistance; however, its application is limited because it relies on nanodroplets with one-time action. Herein, we demonstrate a femtosecond-laser-pumped ultrafast PA cavitation technique for highly efficient shockwave theranostics using niobium carbide (Nb2C) coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone-40000 (PVP), producing sustainable PA cavitation with non-phase-change nanoprobes, which effectively gets rid of the dependence on nanodroplets, guaranteeing multiple treatments. Under femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation, given that the thermal confinement regime could be well satisfied, the Nb2C-PVP nanosheets (NSs) were quickly heated, forming localized overheated nanospots with the temperature exceeding the phase-transition threshold of the surroundings, leading to precise cavitation and explosion at the tumor sites. The experiments at the cellular level showed the significant anti-tumor effects of this method. Notably, the mouse model experiments showed a relative tumor volume inhibition rate of more than 90%, demonstrating the high precision and good efficacy of the proposed anti-tumor method. This method provides a sustainable and highly effective strategy for PA theranostics, indicating its great potential for clinical applications.

Кинетика обратимых фазовых переходов в тонких пленках Ge-=SUB=-2-=/SUB=-Sb-=SUB=-2-=/SUB=-Te-=SUB=-5-=/SUB=- при фемтосекундном лазерном облучении

Femtosecond laser irradiation of amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films initiates reversible phase transitions. The amorphization and crystallization of Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films were experimentally and theoretically confirmed. Electron and lattice temperatures kinetics during laser pulse duration were evaluated by two-temperature models calculations and experimental data. The dynamical changing of optical properties have been taking into account. Temperatures and cooling rates, which are necessary to initiate phase transitions by IR laser pulses with subpicosecond duration. The observed results open perspectives for improvement of Ge2Sb2Te5 nanophotonical devices.

Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Wrinkle-Free Ultra-Flat Multi-Layer Graphene by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation of Graphite Under Ambient Conditions

Here, we report a single-step, high-yield technique for producing planar sheets of wrinkle-free multi-layer graphene (MLG) under ambient conditions by ablation of graphite powder dispersed in ethanol using a femtosecond laser. The parameters for the synthesis of MLG have been optimized and established. The number of layers and quality of MLG produced at several laser fluences (39.4 J/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , 98.72 J/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , 197.45 J/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , 296.16 J/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> ) was established based on detailed characterization using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) with selected area electron diffraction (SAED), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Wrinkle-free, ultra-flat crystalline MLG sheets with 2-12 layers were produced in each case with an average lateral dimension of ∼1-3 μm. The associated oxy- functional groups were characterized and quantified using FTIR and XPS. The highest percentage of sp <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> C atoms and C/O ratio for MLG was achievedat the lowest laser fluence. The higher the laser fluence higher the defects produced in the MLG sheets. The technique produces zero chemical waste, has a very high yield of ∼ 95%, and is promising for bulk-scale production of MLG.

Microsphere femtosecond laser sub-50 nm structuring in far field via non-linear absorption

Creation of arbitrary features with high resolution is critically important in the fabrication of nano-optoelectronic devices. Here, sub-50 nm surface structuring is achieved directly on Sb₂S₃ thin films via microsphere femtosecond laser irradiation in far field. By varying laser fluence and scanning speed, nano-feature sizes can be flexibly tuned. Such small patterns are attributed to the co-effect of microsphere focusing, two-photons absorption, top threshold effect, and high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser-induced incubation effect. The minimum feature size can be reduced down to ~30 nm (<italic>λ</italic>/26) by manipulating film thickness. The fitting analysis between the ablation width and depth predicts that the feature size can be down to ~15 nm at the film thickness of ~10 nm. A nano-grating is fabricated, which demonstrates desirable beam diffraction performance. This nano-scale resolution would be highly attractive for next-generation laser nano-lithography in far field and in ambient air.

Pt nanoparticle decoration on femtosecond laser-irradiated SnO2 nanowires for enhancing C7H8 gas sensing

In this study, we have fabricated a sensitive and selective toluene gas sensor based on SnO2 nanowires (NWs) using the femtosecond (FS) laser irradiation and Pt nanoparticle (NPs) decoration. The effects of different laser parameters, including wavelength, laser pulse energy, hatch distance, and scan speed, are investigated on the gas-sensing properties. The FS laser irradiation-induced embossing surface is found to be a dominant factor in determining the gas-sensing behavior, which provides more oxygen absorption sites, resulting in an increase in the width of the electron depletion layer (EDL) and the sensor response. The Pt decoration on the FS laser-irradiated SnO2 NWs developed additional EDL, which further enhances the sensor response. The Pt-decorated and FS laser-irradiated SnO2 NWs gas sensor shows a high selectivity toward C7H8 owing to the catalytic effect of Pt toward toluene, where the sensor response to 50 ppm C7H8 is as high as 53 at 300 °C. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses, a gas-sensing mechanism of the Pt-decorated and FS laser-irradiated SnO2 NWs gas sensor is proposed. This study highlights a promising combination of Pt decoration and FS laser irradiation for the realization of reliable toluene gas sensors.

Graphene nano-sieves by femtosecond laser irradiation

The formation of nano-pores in graphene crystal structure is alternative way to engineer its electronic properties, chemical reactivity, and surface interactions, enabling applications in technological fields such as sensing, energy and separation. The past few years, nano-perforation of graphene sheets has been accomplished by a variety of different methods suffering mainly from poor scalability and cost efficiency issues. In this work, we introduce an experimental protocol to engineer nanometer scale pores in CVD graphene membranes under ambient conditions, using low power ultra-short laser pulses and overcoming the drawbacks of other perforation techniques. Using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) we visualized and quantified the nanopore network while Raman spectroscopy is utilized to correlate the nano-perforated area with the nanotopographic imaging. We suggest that Raman imaging provides the identification of nanoporous area and, in combination with AFM, we provide solid evidence for the reproducibility of the method, since under these experimental conditions, nanopores of a certain size distribution are formed.

Influence of film thickness and substrate roughness on the formation of laser induced periodic surface structures in poly(ethylene terephthalate) films deposited over gold substrates

A study of the formation of Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) using near-infrared femtosecond pulsed laser irradiation on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films deposited over gold substrates has been carried out. We report the influence of the gold substrate roughness and the PET film thickness on LIPSS formation and analyze it in terms of the features of the electric field distribution obtained by computer simulations using COMSOLTM. We obtain LIPSS with periods close to the irradiation wavelength as long as the aforementioned substrate and film parameters remain below certain threshold values, in particular for polymer thicknesses below 200 nm and substrate roughness of few nm. However, experiments show the impossibility of LIPSS formation for rough substrates as well as thick films above these threshold values. In our numerical simulations, we notice the generation of Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) in the film-substrate interface that gives rise to a periodical field pattern on the surface of the thin film. This periodicity is broken for a certain level of substrate roughness or film thickness. Moreover, the evolution of the period of the SPP as the substrate roughness and film thickness change for given laser parameters is qualitatively in good agreement with the experimental LIPSS period (below but close to the irradiation laser wavelength). In conclusion, the experimental findings are explained by the formation and behavior of SPP in the thin film-substrate interface. On these grounds, we propose that, for our case of study, this SPP formation and the subsequent inhomogeneous rise in temperature induced by the periodic field on the surface of the sample is the leading mechanism contributing to LIPSS formation.