Laser-induced Etching Research Articles

High photoluminescence of silicon nanostructures synthesized by laser‐induced etching

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to synthesize Si (porous silicon (PS)) by laser‐induced etching (LIE) technique. The LIE process has the added advantage of a controlling size and optical properties without using of electrodes. The LIE process is a promising technique for fabricating many optoelectronic devices including: light‐emitting devices, detectors, sensors and large‐scale integrated circuits.Design/methodology/approachPS has been fabricated by LIE technique. Surface morphology and structural properties of nanostructures are characterized by using scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Photoluminescence (PL) measurement is also performed at room temperature by using He‐Cd laser (λ=325 nm) and Raman scattering has been investigated using Ar+ laser (λ=514 nm).FindingsSurface morphology indicated that chemical reaction has been initiated with laser power density of 12 W/cm2, resulting in irregular structure. Micro‐columns are structured on surface with laser power density of 25 W/cm2. The pores structures are confined to smaller size, and the walls between the pore become extremely thin and shorter at 64 W/cm2 power density and 120 min irradiation time. PL spectra at room temperature for PS prepared at power density of 64 W/cm2 and irradiation time of 120 min shows the blue shift of PL at 400 nm and the full‐width and half maximum is about 60 nm. The broadening of the band gap energy occurs with a decrease of the crystallite size. The average diameter of nanosize Si crystallites is about 6‐10 nm. XRD indicated that the broadening in spectrum is due to the small size crystallites.Originality/valueLIE processes have been used to produce high‐luminescent nanocrystallites with small size and size distribution, which is due to the quantum confinement effect.

Excimer laser electrochemical etching n-Si in the KOH solution

To further understand the behavior of laser-induced electrochemical etching process, the experiments of micromachining silicon by laser-induced electrochemical etching were carried out. 248 nm excimer laser as light source was adopted in this work with the power of 10 9 W/cm 2 for the first time and the KOH solution was used as an electrolyte. Based on the results of experiments, basic etching appearances by laser electrochemical etching silicon were researched. The etching rate was analyzed in detail by numerical simulation and experiments. It is verified that the compound technique is a combination of laser, electrochemical and coupling etchings, and laser etching is dominating in the compound process. Besides, both liquid-enhanced and jet shock pressures can preferably improve the etching rate. At the same time, the anisotropic etching stop of silicon in alkaline solution was solved in this study. As a result, this process can be applied to transfer pattern without mask, and it possesses the ability of machining large aspect ratio microstructures.

Manufacturing process of copper microgrooves utilizing a novel optical fiber-based laser-induced etching technique

A new approach for the fabrication of copper microgrooves with near triangular cross-sectional profile is introduced. For manufacturing the microgrooves, a laser-induced thermochemical etching technique based on an optical fiber as an optical waveguide and machining tool is proposed, which significantly reduced the complexity of a conventional laser etching set up. It is explained that the possible problem of fiber damage during laser etching with the proposed method can be solved by appropriately controlling the gap between the sample surface and fiber tip. The fabrication of copper microgrooves with 100 ∼ 300 µm in depth and 100 ∼ 150 µm in width is accomplished with the proposed technique. The grooves fabricated in the optimal process condition have smooth surfaces and clear edge. The angle of triangular groove is measured to be in the range of 30 ∼ 50 degree and the aspect ratio of grooves is about 1 ∼ 2. The overall etching results such as etch width, depth, and aspect ratio variation are reported in detail with respect to process variables.

Etching and forward transfer of fused silica in solid-phase by femtosecond laser-induced solid etching (LISE)

We present a femtosecond laser-based technique for etching and forward transfer of bulk transparent materials in solid-phase. Femtosecond laser pulses with λ = 800 nm were focused through a fused silica block onto an absorbing thin film of Cr. A constraining Si wafer was pressed into tight contact with the Cr film to prevent lift-off of the film. A combination of the high temperature and pressure of the Cr, and compressive stress from the Si, resulted in etching of smooth features from the fused silica by cracking. Unlike in conventional ablative or chemical etching, the silica was removed from the bulk as single solid-phase pieces which could be collected on the Si. Using this so-called laser-induced solid etching (LISE) technique, 1–2 μ m deep pits and channels have been produced in the silica surface, and corresponding dots and lines deposited on the Si. The threshold fluence for etching was found to be ≈ 0.4 J/cm 2 with ≈ 130 fs duration pulses. The morphology of the etched features are investigated as functions of fluence and exposure to multiple pulses.

Investigation of sidewall roughness of the microgrooves manufactured with laser-induced etching technique

A novel laser etching technique utilizing an optical fiber as the laser beam guide is introduced. Depending upon whether a pulsed or a continuous wave (CW) laser is employed as the irradiation source, it was found that the etch depth and surface morphology of the grooves varied significantly. It was then demonstrated that deep microgrooves with smooth sidewalls can be obtained using a hybrid pulse and CW scanning process. The results of laser heating and chemical analyses revealed that sidewall roughness of the microgroove is mainly attributed to surface melting.

Time-resolved measurements during backside dry etching of fused silica

The laser-induced backside dry etching (LIBDE) investigated in this study makes use of a thin metal film deposited at the backside of a transparent sample to achieve etching of the sample surface. For the time-resolved measurements at LIBDE fused silica samples coated with 125 nm tin were used and the reflected and the transmitted laser intensities were recorded with a temporal resolution of about 1 ns during the etching with a ∼30 ns KrF excimer laser pulse. The laser beam absorption as well as characteristic changes of the reflection of the target surface was calculated in dependence on the laser fluence in the range of 250–2500 mJ/cm 2 and the pulse number from the temporal variations of the reflection and the transmission. The decrease of the time of a characteristic drop in the reflectivity, which can be explained by the ablation of the metal film, correlates with the developed thermal model. However, the very high absorption after the film ablation probably results in very high temperatures near the surface and presumably in the formation of an absorbing plasma. This plasma may contribute to the etching and the surface modification of the substrate. After the first pulse a remaining absorption of the sample was measured that can be discussed by the redeposition of portions of the ablated metal film or can come from the surface modification in the fused silica sample. These near-surface modifications permit laser etching with the second laser pulse, too.

Wavelength dependent laser-induced etching of Cr-O doped GaAs: Morphology studies by SEM and AFM

The laser induced etching of semi-insulating GaAs 〈100〉 is carried out to create porous structure under super- and sub-bandgap photon illumination (h v). The etching mechanism is different for these separate illuminations where defect states play the key role in making distinction between these two processes. Separate models are proposed for both the cases to explain the etching efficiency. It is observed that under sub-bandgap photon illumination the etching process starts vigorously through the mediation of intermediate defect states. The defect states initiate the pits formation and subsequently pore propagation occurs due to asymmetric electric field in the pore. Formation of GaAs nanostructures is observed using scanning electron (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Size-selective laser-induced etching of semi-insulating GaAs: Photoluminescence studies

The size-selective laser-induced etching of semi-insulating GaAs 〈1 0 0〉 is carried out to create a porous structure by varying the laser beam exposure time. The etch-time dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy results show that a direct tuning of the size of the nanocrystallites has a limit and it can be effectively carried out till the oxides layers developed on the top surface make a damping in the redox reaction process. The etch rate ∼0.3–0.5 nm/s is observed in the initial state and it continued with much slower rate for longer etching duration. The formation of GaAs nanostructures as well as chemical reaction byproducts on the top surface is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An estimate of the etch-time dependent nanocrystallite size and its size distribution on the etched layer is obtained by using the quantum confinement model.

Laser-induced backside dry etching: wavelength dependence

The laser-induced backside dry etching (LIBDE) method has been developed by analogy with the well-known LIBWE technique for micromachining of transparent materials. In our experiments tin thin films were applied as absorbing layers and the dependence of the etch depth on the applied laser wavelength was investigated. Multipulse irradiation experiments at different wavelengths have also been carried out. A fused silica plate coated by a tin layer was used as a target. The metal film–transparent material interface was irradiated through the fused silica plate by the most frequently used nanosecond excimer laser beams: ArF (193 nm), KrF (248 nm) and XeCl (308 nm). It was found that the etch depth increased linearly with decreasing wavelength in investigated range. Multipulse investigations proved that the energy of the absorbed photons has a strong influence on the mechanism of LIBDE. The etch depth–pulse number curves showed saturation at 1500 mJ cm−2 applied laser fluence at around 2, 3 and 30 pulses for 308 nm, 248 nm and 193 nm wavelengths, respectively. This indicates that the effectiveness of multipulse LIBDE increases when the wavelength of the applied laser source is decreased in the UV range. XPS and spectroscopic ellipsometric analyses showed that formation and embedding of tin-oxides into the upper surface layer can be responsible for the shift of the saturation in the case of ArF as compared with the other studied wavelengths.

Time-resolved transmission study of fused silica during laser-induced backside dry etching

Laser-induced backside dry etching (LIBDE) is a promising technique for micro- and nanomachining of transparent materials. Although several experiments have already proved the suitability and effectiveness of the technique, there are several open questions concerning the etching mechanism and the concomitant processes. In this paper time-resolved light transmission investigations of etching process of fused silica are presented. 125 nm thick silver coating was irradiated through the carrying 1 mm thick fused silica plate by single pulses of a nanosecond KrF excimer laser. The applied fluences were 0.38, 0.71 and 1 J/cm 2. During the etching process the irradiated spots were illuminated by an electronically delayed nitrogen laser pumped dye laser. The delay between the pump and probe pulses was varied in the range of 0 ns and 20 μs. It was found that the transmitted probe beam intensity strongly depends on the applied delays and fluences. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry of the etched surface showed the existence of silver droplets and fragments on the illuminated surfaces and silver atoms built into the treated surface layer influencing the transmission behavior of the studied samples.

Laser-Based Fe-36%Ni (Invar®) Alloy Processing with Deep Microgrooves in Aqueous Solutions

The micromachining technique for the fabrication of Fe-36%Ni (Invar®) microgrooves using a novel laser-induced wet etching system with an optical fiber as the light waveguide and machining tool is investigated. Microgrooves fabricated at the optimal process conditions with the proposed etching system have good surface morphology and dimensional accuracy. It is shown that the variation of etch profiles such as etch width and depth depends significantly upon the process parameters. Fiber damage, which is attributed to macrobubbles, can be dramatically reduced by adjusting the distance between the workpiece surface and the fiber terminal. The effects of process parameters such as laser power, scan speed, and threshold distance on etch width, depth, and crosssectional profiles are reported and the optimal process conditions to fabricate Invar® microgrooves with excellent shape and size are provided. Also, the applicability of the Invar® microgrooves for the manufacturing of shadow mask for an organic light emitting diode (OLED) is demonstrated.

The Effect of Etchant Concentration on Surface Morphology Of Porous GaP Produced By Laser-Induced Etching

Porous GaP have studied and fabricated by using an argon-ion laser beam of energy 2.41 eV was to recording the Raman spectra. The peak position shifts in Raman spectra was observed at 398 cm -1 after etching. The Raman line is broad and asymmetric in comparison to the Raman line for crystalline GaP of 402 cm -1 . The weak structure near 350 cm -1 is a forbidden TO phonon, which arises due to structural disorder in the material. The peak that appears near 378 cm -1 is attributed to a surface phonon mode. The surface phonon frequency depends on the nanocrystalline size, shape and dielectric constant of the surrounding medium. We have studied the surface morphology of porous layers obtained by LIE of n-type GaP (100) substrates by using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The morphology of porous GaP layers changes rapidly with laser power densities and irradiation times. As well as both the size and shape of the structure depend on the nature and concentration of etchant solution.

Fabrication of nanopatterned germanium surface by laser-induced etching: AFM, Raman and PL studies

Fabrication of the nanopatterned germanium (Ge) surface is done by laser-induced etching. Atomic force microscopy is utilized here to study the surface and sizes of Ge nanoparticles. Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been used to characterize their vibrational and light emission properties. Wavelength-dependent Raman investigations of these nanopatterned Ge surface reveal spatial distribution of sizes of nanoparticles. Nanopatterned Ge structures (etched for 60 min) emit a broad PL band having two maxima at ∼2.1 and 2.35 eV.

Size-dependent Fano Interaction in the Laser-etched Silicon Nanostructures

Photo-excitation and size-dependent Raman scattering studies on the silicon (Si) nanostructures (NSs) prepared by laser-induced etching are presented here. Asymmetric and red-shifted Raman line-shapes are observed due to photo-excited Fano interaction in the quantum confined nanoparticles. The Fano interaction is observed between photo-excited electronic transitions and discrete phonons in Si NSs. Photo-excited Fano studies on different Si NSs show that the Fano interaction is high for smaller size of Si NSs. Higher Fano interaction for smaller Si NSs is attributed to the enhanced interference between photo-excited electronic Raman scattering and phonon Raman scattering.

Stochastic features of rough surfaces: analysis of laser-induced silicon surfacemodification

We have used level crossing analysis to obtain further insights on roughness andmultifractality. In addition, sources of multifractality could be specified by using shufflingand surrogate procedures. We have shown how these concepts could explain a rough surfacefor the purpose of suitable application and how experimental parameters can affect itsproperties. To make it more clear, we have used laser-induced etching of silicon in someinterfaces such as water, ethanol and air, as an example. The effect of liquid interfaces ongenerating topographic rough surfaces in silicon has been studied using the atomic forcemicroscopy technique (AFM).

Design and Fabrication of a Metallic Micro-Heat Pipe Based on High-Aspect-Ratio Microchannels

The cooling capacity of a micro-heat pipe is mainly governed by the magnitude of capillary pressure induced in the wick structure. For microchannel wicks, a higher capillary pressure is achievable for narrower and deeper channels. In this study, a metallic micro-heat pipe adopting high-aspect-ratio microchannel wicks is fabricated. The micromachining of high-aspect-ratio microchannels is done using the laser-induced wet etching technique in which a focused laser beam irradiates the workpiece placed in a liquid etchant along a desired channel pattern. Because of the direct writing characteristic of the laser-induced wet etching method, no mask is necessary, and the fabrication procedure is relatively simple. Deep microchannels of an aspect ratio close to 10 can be readily fabricated with little heat damage to the workpiece. The laser-induced wet etching process for the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio microchannels in 0.5 mm thick stainless steel foil is presented in detail. The shape and size variations of microchannels with respect to the process variables, such as laser power, scanning speed, number of scans, and etchant concentration, are closely examined. Also, the fabrication of a flat micro-heat pipe based on the high-aspect-ratio microchannels is demonstrated.

Macro and microsurface morphology reconstructions during laser-induced etching of silicon

Surface morphologies of the laser-etched silicon were studied as a function of the laser power densities. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results show that different kind of microstructures develop. Pores like structures are formed at low laser power density and pillar like structures are obtained at higher laser power density. It is the etching rate, which is responsible for the surface morphology reconstructions. Etching rate was found to be a function of the laser power density. Atomic force microscope (AFM) results reveal that macro and microsurface morphology reconstructions take place simultaneously as a result of increasing etching rate. Macrosurface morphology reconstruction takes place on the silicon wafer surface and the microsurface morphology reconstruction takes place inside the pore wall.

Photoexcited Fano interaction in laser-etched silicon nanostructures

Photoexcitation dependent Raman studies on the optical phonon mode in silicon nanostructures (Si NS) prepared by laser-induced etching are done here. The increase in the asymmetry of the Raman spectra on the increasing laser power density is attributed to Fano interference between discrete optical phonons and continuum of electronic excitations in the few nanometer size nanoparticles made by laser-induced etching. No such changes are observed for the same laser power density in the crystalline silicon sample or ion-implanted silicon sample followed by laser annealing. A broad photoluminescence spectrum from Si NS contains multiple peak behavior, which reveals the presence of continuum of electronic states in the Si NS.

Processing of transparent materials using visible nanosecond laser pulses

Laser micromachining of transparent materials is an intensively studied research area from the point of view of microoptical element fabrication. One of the most promising indirect processing methods is the laser-induced back-side dry etching (LIBDE). During this method, transparent targets are contacted with solid thin layers, which absorb and transform the pulse energy resulting in etching. The applicability of LIBDE technology for processing of fused silica using a visible nanosecond dye laser (λ=500 nm, FWHM=11 ns) and a 100-nm-thick aluminium absorbing layer was investigated. The applied fluence was varied in the range of 0–3050 mJ/cm2; the illuminated area was 0.1 mm2. The threshold fluence of the LIBDE etching of fused silica was found to be approximately 540 mJ/cm2. The chemical composition of the surface layers on and around the etched holes was investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. It was found that on average 0.4±0.3 at. % aluminium is built into the upper ∼1-μm-thick volume of the illuminated fused silica, while the aluminium content fell below the detection limit in the case of the original surface. Our experiments proved that the LIBDE procedure is suitable for microprocessing of transparent materials using visible nanosecond laser light.

Using IR laser radiation for backside etching of fused silica

Laser-induced backside etching of fused silica with gallium as highly absorbing liquid is demonstrated using pulsed infrared laser radiation. The influences of the laser fluence, the pulse number, and the pulse length on the etch rate and the etched surface topography were studied and the results are compared with these of excimer laser etching. The high reflectivity of the fused silica-gallium interface at IR wavelengths results in the measured high threshold fluences for etching of about 3 J/cm2 and 7 J/cm2 for 18 ns and 73 ns pulses, respectively. For both pulse lengths the etch rate rises almost linearly with laser fluence and reaches a value of 350 and 300 nm/pulse at a laser fluence of about 12 and 28 J/cm2, respectively. The etching process is almost free from incubation processes because etching with the first laser pulse and a constant etch rate were observed. The etched surfaces are well-defined with clear edges and a Gaussian-curved, smooth bottom. A roughness of about 1.5 nm rms was measured by AFM at an etch depth of 0.95 μm.