Tungsten microcone arrays grown using nanosecond pulsed-Nd:YAG laser in a low-pressure He-gas atmosphere

Tungsten microcone arrays with a high aspect ratio are formed by the cumulative nanosecond pulsed-Nd:YAG laser irradiation of single-crystal tungsten under low pressure in an inert atmosphere. The morphology of the microcones and their density were strongly affected by the number of laser pulses. The microcones grew to a length of 20 μm with a diameter of about 1.5 μm at the tip after irradiation with more than 1200 pulses under our experimental conditions. They may have potential applications for emission cathodes in a field-emission display (FED) and in microelectronic devices. Received: 8 January 2001 / Accepted: 13 June 2001 / Published online: 2 October 2001     

Picosecond-laser-induced structural modifications in the bulk of single-crystal diamond

Arrays of through laser-graphitized microstructures have been fabricated in type IIa single-crystal 1.2-mm-thick diamond plates by multipulse laser irradiation with 10-ps pulses at λ=532 nm wavelength. Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy studies of the bulk microstructures have evidenced the diamond transformation to amorphous carbon and graphitic phases and the formation of radiation defects pronounced in the PL spectra as the self-interstitial related center, the 3H center, at 504 nm. It is found that the ultrafast-laser-induced structural modifications in the bulk of single-crystal diamond plates occur along {111} planes, known as the planes of the lowest cleavage energy and strength in diamond.     

Metastable carbon allotropes in picosecond-laser-modified diamond

In this paper, we report on the bulk modifications of type IIa single-crystal diamond with visible 10-ps pulses (at λ = 532 nm) and microstructural changes characterized by the appearance of several ‘unidentifiable’ vibrational modes in the frequency range of 1000–1400 cm^?1 in the Raman spectra of laser-modified diamond. It is found that the new Raman modes are strongly pronounced in the spectra of high-stress regions in immediate proximity to the bulk microstructures in the absence of the G mode at ~1580 cm^?1 characteristic of the sp² phase. The high internal stresses are determined from the splitting of the triply degenerate diamond Raman line. The revealed structure transformation is localized within a narrow bulk layer near the bulk microstructures formed, and the stress relaxation is found to result in disappearance of the detected vibrational modes in the spectra. It is suggested that the formation of bulk regions with a sp³ carbon structure consisting of Z-carbon and hexagonal diamond is responsible for the appearance of new Raman modes in the spectra of laser-modified diamond. These findings evidence that the stress-assisted formation of novel metastable carbon phases or defect structures occur in the course of bulk modification of diamond with ps-laser pulses. In addition, we report the results of simulations of internal stresses in the system ‘graphitized cylinder-in-diamond’ to show (1) the effect of the mechanical properties of laser-modified diamond on the resulting stresses and (2) formation of bulk microscopic regions with high stresses of >10 GPa, i.e., the conditions at which various sp³ carbon allotropes and defect structures become more stable than graphite.     

Field electron emission of carbon-based nanocone films

Diamond nanocone, graphitic nanocone, and mixed diamond and graphitic nanocone films have been synthesized through plasma enhanced hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). The field emission properties of these films have been experimentally investigated. The studies have revealed that all three kinds of nanocone films have excellent field electron emission (FEE) properties including low turn-on electric field and large emission current at low electric field. Compared with the diamond nanocone films (emission current of 86 μA at 26 V/μm with the turn-on field of 10 V/μm), the graphitic nanocone films exhibit higher FEE current of 1.8×10² μA at 13 V/μm and a lower turn-on filed of 4 V/μm. The mixed diamond and graphitic nanocone films have been found to posses FEE properties similar to graphitic nanocone films (emission current of 1.7×10² μA at 20 V/μm with the turn-on field of 5 V/μm), but have much better FEE stability than the graphitic nanocone films. PACS 81.07.Bc; 81.05.Uw; 79.70.+q     

Laser ablation and micropatterning of thin TiN coatings

Laser ablation of thin TiN films deposited on steel substrates has been studied under wide-range variation of irradiation conditions (pulsewidth, wavelength, energy density and spot size). It has been demonstrated that both picosecond (150–300 ps) and nanosecond (5–9 ns) laser pulses were suitable for controllable ablation and microstructuring of a 1-μm-thick TiN film unlike longer 150-ns pulses. The ablation rate was found to be practically independent of the wavelength (270–1078 nm) and pulsewidth (150 ps–9 ns), but it increased substantially when the size of a laser spot was reduced from 15–60 μm to 3 μm. The laser ablation technique was applied to produce microstructures in the thin TiN films consisting of microcraters with a typical size of 3–5 μm in diameter and depth less than 1 μm. Tests of lubricated sliding of the laser-structured TiN films against a steel ball showed that the durability of lubricated sliding increased by 25% as compared to that of the original TiN film. Received: 28 July 1999 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 20 September 2000     

Laser polishing of diamond plates

Results are reported on laser polishing of 150–400-μm-thick free-standing diamond films with either a copper vapor laser (510 nm wavelength) or an ArF excimer laser (193 nm wavelength). Studies were focused on three particular goals. First, we aimed at a choice of optimum conditions for laser polishing of thick diamond films. It was shown that the laser polishing conditions and the resulting surface roughness were controlled by varying the angle of incidence of a scanning laser beam and by polishing time. Second, the laser ablation technique was applied to remove a defective layer from the “substrate” side of the diamond plates in order to reduce optical losses due to absorption in this layer. Third, the structure of the laser-graphitized diamond surface was studied using UV, visible, and IR optical spectroscopy techniques in the course of the “step-by-step” oxidative removal of the graphitic layer with increasing temperature of the oxidation in ambient air. Once the graphitic layer was removed, the optical transmission in the UV-visible-IR spectral range of the diamond films polished under optimum conditions was measured and compared with the optical transmission of the mechanically polished diamond films. It was shown that the optical quality (in the long-wave infrared region) of the laser-polished diamond plates was sufficient to reach the transmittance value very close to the theoretical limit. Received: 20 October 1998 / Accepted: 8 March 1999 / Published online: 5 May 1999     

Two-octave spectral broadening of subnanojoule Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser pulses in tapered fibers

Spectral broadening of femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser pulses is enhanced due to the use of tapered fibers. Supercontinuum generation with unamplified subnanojoule femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser pulses is observed for the first time. With 40-fs 0.6-nJ pulses of 1.25-μm Cr:forsterite laser radiation coupled into a tapered fiber having a taper waist diameter of about 2 μm and a taper waist length of 90 mm, we observed the spectra spanning more than two octaves at the output of the fiber in the regime of anomalous group-velocity dispersion. This result opens the way for the creation of compact femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser plus tapered fiber systems for optical metrology and biomedical applications. Received: 23 October 2001 / Accepted: 16 January 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2002     

Filamentary cavity formation in poly(methyl methacrylate) by single femtosecond pulse

A single femtosecond laser pulse creates a filamentary structural change along the optical axis inside bulk poly(methyl methacrylate). The filamentary structural change was revealed to be a cylindrical cavity based on scanning electron microscope examination, the presence of capillary action, and analysis of diffraction by an embedded diffraction grating. The cavity had a diameter of 0.8 μm and a length of 125 μm. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.70.Jk     

Crown-like structure development on titanium exposed to multipulse Nd:YAG laser irradiation

We report micrometre-sized crown-like structure growth on a Ti surface by multipulse Nd:YAG (λ=1.064 μm,τ=170 ns) laser irradiation in air at atmospheric pressure. The irradiation was performed at 8×10⁷ W/cm² laser-pulse intensity, below the ablation threshold. A ring-shape structure develops in the centre of the irradiation spot after the action of five laser pulses. The further increase of the laser-pulse number leads gradually to a crown-like structure, which has, for 150 pulses, a height of 120–140 μm above the non-irradiated Ti surface. The forming crater’s depth does not exceed the height of the grown structure. In the neighbouring zone, after the action of 25 laser pulses, microcracks of the oxide surface layer develop. With the next pulses this leads to the formation of a surface microrelief. The crown-like-structure growth is originated by molten material movement attributed to the laser-induced plasma-recoil pressure. Received: 6 June 2001 / Accepted: 6 January 2002 / Published online: 26 March 2002     

Antireflection structures written by excimer laser on CVD diamond

Two-dimensional antireflective periodical microstructures for the IR range are fabricated on the surface of CVD diamond films. These structures are created using an ArF excimer laser (λ=193 nm) and a direct writing scheme consisting of a beam collimator and a microscope objective to focus the beam onto the sample. Two different arrays are investigated. One has a spacing of 3 μm and is produced with single shots and the other one has a spacing of 4 μm and is produced with three shots per spot. The hole depth and shape are measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The optical transmittance and the scattering properties of the structure at 10.6 μm are reported for a CO₂ laser beam. With a spectrometer further transmission measurements in the range of 5 to 20 μm are performed. Received: 16 September 1999 / Accepted: 11 October 1999 / Published online: 24 March 2000     

Single mode MOPA structured all-fiber Yb pulse fiber amplifier at low repetition

We describe a mopa structured all-fiber 15 μm fiber amplifier cascade. A single-mode diode laser generating 1064 nm wavelength, several nanosecond pulses at 100 Hz repetition was adopted to seed a corepumping amplifier featuring a 6 μm core Yb-doped fiber. Multi-stage pulse-pumping technology was applied to eliminate ASE as much as possible and ease the heat load of the system that leads to the freedom of temperature control of the laser diode. The master oscillator-power amplifier (MOPA) generated 1064 nm, 18 ns pulse-width, 100 Hz repetition of 220 μJ single pulse energy, peak power >12 kW with single transverse output. The pulse energy of 220 μJ is the largest to date in the all-fiber MOPA amplifier with core diameter around 15 μm to our knowledge.     

Processing of micro-particles by UV laser irradiation in a field cage

An electric cage-laser micro-turning lathe was realised and applied to contact-free handling and mechanical processing of micro particles. Since particles with diameters of several micrometers cannot be fixed in mechanical chucks, an octode field cage was used to trap and rotate a single particle in a fluid without any mechanical surface contact. A pulsed nitrogen laser of high beam quality focused to about 1 μm in diameter could be adjusted independently of the cage position. The trapping forces (negative dielectrophoresis) acting on a bead of 5 to 15 μm are up to several hundred pN. This and the surrounding fluid damp down the effect of the laser pulses during bead processing. Examples demonstrating the possibilities of this technique are shown. Microsystems with high optical quality were fabricated photolithographically or by laser direct-write chemical vapor deposition (LCVD). Technical and biotechnological applications are discussed. Received: 20 October 1999 / Accepted: 27 October 1999 / Published online: 10 November 1999     

Sub-wavelength micromachining of silica glass by irradiation of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser with Fresnel diffraction

We investigated a simple and productive micromachining method of silica glass by ablation using a TEA CO₂ laser (10.6 μm) with a spatial resolution down to sub-wavelength scale. The silica glass was irradiated by the TEA CO₂ laser light through a copper grid mask with square apertures of 20×20 μm² attached to the silica glass surface. After the irradiation, circular holes with a diameter of several μm were formed on the silica glass surface at the centers of the apertures due to the Fresnel diffraction effect. The minimum diameter of the holes was 3.4 μm. The characteristics of the micromachining are discussed based on the electric field distributions of the CO₂ laser light under the mask using a three-dimensional full-wave electromagnetic field simulation.     

Broadband 2 μm emission and energy-transfer properties of thulium-doped oxyfluoride germanate glass fiber

High near-infrared transparency Tm³⁺-doped germanate bulk glass and fiber have been fabricated and 2 μm emission properties demonstrated. Energy-transfer processes in the germanate glass and fiber are discussed. The emission spectra are obtained from both bulk glass and fiber with the excitation of a 794 nm laser diode. The results indicate that the line width of the Tm³⁺:³F₄→³H₆ emission spectra measured in fibers is narrower than that of the bulk glass sample and shifts to longer wavelengths with increment of fiber length. The extended overlap integral method is used to calculate the microparameters of energy transfer and critical distance. A model is derived to better understand of the energy-transfer process of thulium ions in the germanate glasses responsible for emission at 2 μm. The study indicates that Tm³⁺-doped germanate fibers with a large core diameter has proved to be promising infrared optical and high-power level laser materials.     

Femtosecond laser direct writing of embedded optical waveguides in aluminosilicate glass

Using tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses to irradiate lines in aluminosilicate glass, embedded lines with increased refractive index, which function as optical waveguides were observed. The pulse energy (4.5–11.2 μJ) and writing speed (50–700 μm/s) were shown to affect the resultant optical properties of the waveguides such as the magnitude of refractive index change, core diameter and propagation mode. At pulse energies above 5 μJ, two types of structures were observed, namely an inhomogeneous void-like structure and a cross-sectional crack-like structure. These structures were found to affect significantly the resultant waveguiding properties of the irradiated lines. Using pulse energy of 5 μJ or below, single mode waveguides were fabricated. Raman spectroscopy showed that the fs laser pulses generated structural changes to the aluminosilicate glass. The fabrication of a 1×4 splitter was also demonstrated. PACS 42.62.-b; 42.82.-m; 81.05.Kf     

Study of the conditions for the effective energy transfer in a process of acceleration and collision of the thin metal disks with the massive target

Efficiency studies of laser driven thin metal disks acceleration using the first harmonic (λ₁=1.315 μm) of the Prague Asterix Laser System (PALS) and subsequent craters creation produced by collisions of these disks with massive targets are presented. Several different disks made of aluminium and copper foils with diameters of 300 μm and 600 μm and thicknesses of 11 μm (Al) and 3.6 μ m (Cu) were employed. Disks were placed at the distance of either 100 μ m or 300 μm in front of aluminium massive targets. The following irradiation conditions were used: the laser beam energy of 120 J, the focal spot diameter of 200 μm, and the pulse duration of 0.4 ns (FWHM). A three-frame interferometric system was employed to determine electron density distributions in plasma corona. Shape and volume of craters were obtained by crater replica technology and microscopy measurements. The aim of these investigations was to analyse conditions leading to the most effective energy transfer in the process of collision of the accelerated disks with solid targets. The overall efficiency of these processes was characterized by the volume of craters produced in such targets.     

High-speed machining of glass materials by laser-induced plasma-assisted ablation using a 532-nm laser

+ :YAG laser (532 nm). The plasma generated from a silver (Ag) target by the laser irradiation effectively assists in ablation of the fused quartz substrate by the same laser beam, although the laser beam is transparent to the substrate. A grating with a cross-sectional shape like a square-wave (period ≈ 20 μm) is achieved using the mask projection technique. The ablation rate reaches several tens nm/pulse. In addition, LIPAA is applied to high-speed hole drilling (700 μm in diameter) of fused-quartz (0.5 mm thick) and Pyrex glass (0.5 mm thick). Received: 25 May 1998/Accepted: 19 June 1998     

Trepanning of glass using the fourth harmonic of nanosecond pulse Nd:YAG laser

Using the fourth harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, the formation of a trepanned through hole of 1 mm in diameter in borosilicate glass of 140 μm thickness was achieved. The number of circular scans required to form a trepanned through hole, decreased rapidly with an increase in the number of the lines (circles) per circular scan. This result is interpreted as a decrease of beam propagation losses in the groove with an increase in the groove width. The number of irradiation pulses required to form a trepanned through hole increased rapidly with an increase in the number of lines (circles) per circular scan. The optimum condition for forming a trepanned through hole arises from the relationship between the irradiation pulse energy density, the number of irradiation pulses, and the number of lines (circles) per scan. PACS 52.38.Mf; 42.70.Ce; 42.62.Cf     

High-efficiency optical compression of Ti:sapphire laser pulses at 800 nm using a silver-coated hollow fiber

A 50 cm silver coated hollow fiber with inner diameter of 250 μm and filled with argon has been used to compress optical pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser at 800 nm. Input pulses with energy of 250 μJ and duration of 110 fs were used and compressed pulses with energy of 220 μJ and duration of 20 fs were generated by using a prism compressor. Numerical and experimental results are compared. There is good agreement between the measured beam diameters of the hollow-fiber output pulse and the calculated values obtained from propagation of the HE₁₁ mode into free space. For comparison, a similar uncoated fused-silica hollow fiber was also used to obtain 20 fs compressed pulses with an energy of 190 μJ. Received: 7 September 2002 / Published online: 26 March 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-780/492-1811, E-mail: mohebbi@ee.ualberta.ca     

Intense laser flux effects on GaAs

Surface damage measurements on GaAs for pulsed laser flux at 0.694 μm, 1.06 μm, and 10.6 μm are presented. The damage threshold is seen to increase with the flux wavelength and decrease with increasing pulse duration. Other experiments were performed which indicated that the initial effect of the laser beam is to produce expansion of the bulk material and that the interband Faraday rotation at 1.06 μm is not dependent on laser intensity.