Characterization of microstructures induced in the workpiece of aluminum alloy by excimer laser micromachining

Excimer laser emitting at 248 nm is applied to produce microstructures on the surface of aluminum alloy. The surface morphology shows that hotspots and thermal fluidic structures both come to light. Two possible mechanisms of hotspots formation are proposed: near-field diffraction and interference, and extremely fast rapid thermal annealing. And for the formation of thermal fluidic pattern structure, a thin film model is applied.     

Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio microstructures using excimer laser

An excimer laser micromachining system is developed to study the ablation of high-aspect-ratio microstructures. The study examines the ablation efficiency, specifically, the impact of changing major laser operating parameters on the resulting microstructural shapes and morphology. The study focuses on glass, although results on silicon and aluminum are also included for comparison. In ablating grooved structures, the ablation depth has been observed to be linearly proportional to the operating parameters, such as the pulse number and fluence. The results specifically indicate that ablation at low fluence and high repetition rates tends to form a V-shaped cross-section or profile, while a U-shaped profile can be obtained at high fluence and low repetition rate. The ablation rate or ablated volume has then been quantified based on the ablation depth measured and the ablated profile observed. The threshold fluence has also been obtained by extrapolating experimental data of ablation rate. The extrapolation accuracy has been established by the good agreement between the extrapolated value and the one predicted by Beer's law. Moreover, a one-dimensional analytical solution has been adopted to predict the ablated volume so as to compare with the experimental data. The reasonable agreement between the two indicates that a simple analytical solution can be used for guiding or controlling further laser operations in ablating glass structures. Finally, the experimental results have shown that increasing the repetition rate favors the morphology of ablated surfaces, though the effect of repetition rate on ablation depth is insignificant.     

Evaluation of excimer laser ablation of thin Cr film on glass substrate by analysing acoustic emission

Excimer laser ablation of a thin Cr film on a glass substrate was evaluated through detecting acoustic emission arising from the ablation process and observing surface morphology. In the experiment, an acoustic emission transducer was coupled to the sample to acquire acoustic emissions of laser–material interaction and an oscilloscope was used to record the signals. The patterned areas were examined by using an optical microscope. Characteristics of the acoustic emissions were studied through applying a range of signal analysis tools. Several features (e.g., average power, RMS) showed a clear linkage with the ablation mechanism of thin Cr film when varying the fluence of the laser source. Moreover, the damage to the glass substrate was well discriminated by the extracted features. In sum, evaluation of acoustic emissions not only provided a tool to study the ablation mechanisms of the thin metal film but also addressed a monitoring strategy for excimer laser micromachining.     

Projection ablation of glass-based single and arrayed microstructures using excimer laser

Ablation of single and arrayed microstructures using an excimer laser is studied. The single feature microstructures are fabricated for evaluating the ablation mechanism, threshold fluence, and associated material removing (ablation) rate. The morphology changes during ablation are investigated with the focus on the formation of the ablation defects, debris or recast. The possibility of removing these defects is also evaluated and demonstrated. The present study concentrates on the borosilicate glass, although ablation of polyimide and silicon are performed and discussed for comparison. Polyimide and silicon are the most popular polymer or semiconductor material used in the electronics industry. The arrayed microstructures are ablated to demonstrate the fact that, by repetition of a simple-patterned mask associated with synchronized laser pulses and substrate movement, arrayed and more complex structures can be cost-effectively manufactured. The potential applications of these arrayed microstructures are discussed and illustrated. A low-cost replication technique that uses the arrayed microstructure presently machined as the forming mold for making electroforming nickel microneedles is specifically presented. Finally, the potential areas of using excimer laser in micromachining of glass-based structures for future research are also briefly covered.     

准分子激光光束均匀性的评价指标研究

 详细研究了准分子激光光束均匀性的各项评价指标，加工窗口描述了加工任务本身对光束均匀度的要求；能量分数回答了具体加工窗口即均匀度要求下的能量利用率问题；平顶因子则描述了整个光斑能量分布范围内的均匀性问题。利用激光波面分析仪对不同均匀器所获得的均匀光束进行评价比较，蝇眼透镜均匀器能量利用率高，整个光斑内的均匀效果好，但最佳均匀截面的位置动态范围小；组合棱镜均匀器均匀截面动态范围大，但整体均匀效量较差。     

Effect of excimer laser annealing on the properties of ZnO thin film prepared by sol-gel method

Pristine ZnO thin films have been deposited with zinc acetate [Zn(CH₃COO)₂], mono-ethanolamine (stabilizer), and isopropanol solutions by sol-gel method. After deposition, pristine ZnO thin films have been irradiated by excimer laser (λ = 248, KrF) source with energy density of 50 mJ/cm² for 30 sec. The effect of excimer laser annealing on the optical and structural properties of ZnO thin films are investigated by photoluminescence and field emission scanning electron microscope. As-grown ZnO thin films show a huge peak of visible region and a wide full width at half maximum (FWHM) of UV region due to low quality with amorphous ZnO thin films. After KrF excimer laser annealing, ZnO thin films show intense near-band-edge (NBE) emission and weak deep-level emission. The optically improved pristine ZnO thin films have demonstrated that excimer laser annealing is novel treatment process at room temperature.     

Angular distribution of sputtered matter under Cs bombardment with oblique incidence

Silicon, germanium and indium phosphide targets are sputtered with a cesium ion beam. The energy of impact is changed from 2 keV to 10 keV and the incidence angle of bombardment is modified from 30° to 60°. Emitted matter is collected on a semi-cylindrical copper foil. Subsequently, spatially resolved thicknesses and elemental compositions of the deposit are determined by means of SIMS depth profiles. These distributions across the deposit allow us to deduce the angular distribution of emitted matter. Our experimental data show that the preferential direction as well as the spreading around this direction can be altered, with more or less efficiency, by the variation of the bombardment parameters. For the indium phosphide, we also study the elemental composition of the deposit in function of the emission angle. It shows an increasing deviation from stoichiometry with increasing emission angle.     

Fabrication of an integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on refractive index modification of polymethylmethacrylate by krypton fluoride excimer laser radiation

It is known that deep ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces a refractive index increase in the surface layer of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) samples. This effect can be used for the fabrication of integrated optical waveguides. PMMA is of considerable interest for bio and chemical sensing applications because it is biocompatible and can be micromachined by several methods, e.g. structuring by photolithography, ablation and hot embossing. In the presented work direct UV irradiation of a common PMMA substrate by a krypton fluoride excimer laser beam through a contact mask has been used to write integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI). MZI are used as sensitive bio and chemical sensors. The aim was to determine contact mask design and laser irradiation parameters for fabricating single-mode MZI for the infrared region from 1.30 μm to 1.62 μm. Straight and curved waveguides have been generated and characterized to determine the optical losses. The generation of channel waveguide structures has been optimized by a two step irradiation process to minimize the lithographic writing time and optical loss. By flood exposure to UV laser radiation in the first step the optical absorption of PMMA can be increased in the irradiated region. The required refractive index profile is then achieved with a second lithographic irradiation. The spectral behaviour of an unbalanced, integrated optical MZI fabricated by this excimer laser based contact mask method is shown for the first time. Further the optical intensity at the output port of a MZI has been measured while the optical path length difference was tuned by creating a temperature difference between the two arms of the MZI.     

光束斜入射的分频光栅衍射行为研究

 用标量理论和矢量理论分析了光束斜入射时分频光栅的衍射行为，分频光栅在光束斜入射时的分频效果，以及入射角度的有效范围。计算结果表明，并非严格的正入射才能保证分频光栅的分频效果，在光束入射角度小于5°时仍然可以满足ICF系统的要求。     

基于开放式T靶的弹丸斜入射数学模型

常规声学立靶测量系统要求入射弹道垂直于预先设立的靶面,当弹道斜对靶面入射时,得到的计算结果误差较大。本文通过采用T型传感器布阵,提出了一种新的无风状态下弹丸斜入射时的数学模型。实验结果表明,该模型使斜入时定位精度得到了提高。     

Impact of open de-ionized water thin film laminar immersion on the liquid-immersed ablation threshold and ablation rate of features machined by KrF excimer laser ablation of bisphenol A polycarbonate

Debris control and surface quality are potential major benefits of sample liquid immersion when laser micromachining; however, the use of an immersion technique potentially modifies the ablation mechanism when compared to an ambient air interaction. To investigate the machining characteristics, bisphenol A polycarbonate has been laser machined in air and under a controllable open liquid film. To provide quantitative analysis, ablation threshold, ablation rate and the attenuation coefficient of the immersing de-ionized (DI) water fluid were measured. In ambient air the threshold fluence was measured to be 37 mJ cm⁻². Thin film immersion displayed two trends: threshold fluences of 58.6 and 83.9 mJ cm⁻². The attenuation of DI water was found to be negligible; thus, the change in ablation rate resulted from increased confinement of the vapour plume by the liquid medium, generating higher Bremsstrahlung attenuation of the beam, lowering the laser etch rate. Simultaneously, splashing motivated by the confined ablation plume allowed release of plume pressure before plume etching commenced. This contributed to the loss of total etching efficiency. Two interaction scenarios were obsereved as a result of splashing: (i) intermediate threshold fluence, where splashing occured after every pulse in a mode that interrupted the flow entirely, leaving an ambient air interaction for the following pulse; (ii) high threshold fluence, where splashing occured for every pulse in a mode that allowed the flow to recommence over the image before the next pulse causing every pulse to experience Bremsstrahlung attenuation. Since attenuation of the immersion liquid was negligible, it is the action of the constrained ablation plume within a thin flowing immersion liquid, the resultant Bremsstrahlung attenuation and splashing events that are the critical mechanisms that modify the primary ablation characteristics.     

Silicon substrate temperature effects on surface roughness induced by ultrafast laser processing

We report the effect of substrate temperature (T_sub) in the range 300-900 K on the surface roughness of silicon wafer resulted from femtosecond laser ablation. The surface roughness observed at the laser fluences less then 0.3 J/cm² increases with increasing T_sub. However, the surface roughness decreases with increasing T_sub for the laser fluences between 0.5 and 1.0 J/cm². If the laser fluence is higher than 2.0 J/cm², the surface roughness is independent of T_sub. The effect of T_sub on the surface roughness can be understood in terms of the temperature dependence of optical absorption coefficient of silicon substrate, which eventually alters a mechanism underlying the fs-laser-material ablation process between optical penetration and thermal diffusion processes.     

Optimization of microvia-technology using excimer laser for build-up layer application in microelectronics

In interconnection microelectronics microvias play a key role in the manufacture of high-density circuitry for use in electronic systems such as portable, smart sensors and computing applications. In the current work an excimer laser is used and microvias in the dielectric of the build-up layer are generated with the mask imaging method. Different laser parameters (demagnification factor, energy transmission percentage, fluence) are optimised in order to obtain microvias with different diameters, taper angle and aspect ratio. With electrochemical Cu-deposition interconnections between the upper and the underlying circuitry are realised. A nearly uniform thickness of the plated copper is obtained, and quality of the plating is assessed by means of the degree of delamination of the electrochemically deposited copper.     

Characterization of boron carbon nitride film modified by excimer laser annealing

Boron carbon nitride (BCN) shows promise as a field emitter material because of its mechanical hardness, chemical inertness, and low electron affinity. This study investigated the modification of a BCN film with an amorphous area using KrF excimer laser (wavelength: 248 nm, photon energy: 5.0 eV) annealing without substrate heating. This achieved significant variation in characteristics, such as an increase in bandgap energy and decrease in electron affinity. Laser annealing reduced electron affinity from 0.7 to 0.3 eV. The results indicate that the modification of the BCN film by KrF excimer laser annealing achieves characteristics similar to hexagonal BN (h-BN) film without losing the desirable properties of the BCN film, such as physical stability.     

Dynamical resolidification behavior of silicon thin films during frontside and backside excimer laser annealing

Excimer laser annealing (ELA) is frequently employed to fabricate low-temperature polycrystalline silicon films on glass substrate. The grain size and crystallinity of polycrystalline silicon films are significantly affected by the resolidification behavior during ELA. A real-time in situ time-resolved optical measurement system is developed to record the rapid phase transformation process during ELA. The average solidification velocity of liquid-Si is calculated from these optical spectra using MATLAB and Excel softwares. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images reveal maximum grain size of poly-Si films with a diameter of 1 μm, which is obtained in the complete melting regime of both frontside ELA and backside ELA. Recrystallization mechanisms of complete melting of Si thin films in frontside ELA and backside ELA are demonstrated. Resolidification scenarios of partial melting, near-complete melting and complete melting in frontside ELA and backside ELA are proposed.     

Stimulation of the local growth of aligned carbon nanotubes by pulse laser exposure of the substrate

The local stimulation of carbon nanotubes (CNT) growth at the laser-modified sites that have been obtained by excimer laser irradiation at 248 nm causing a local surface modification has been investigated by two different processing methods. The influence of the laser processing parameters on the CNT growth is compared for the irradiation of thin spin-coated iron nitrate films on silicon substrates and the backside irradiation of a fused silica substrate being in contact with an iron nitrate solution. Both techniques cause the formation of catalytic surface sites either by decomposition of the film or by deposition from the solution. For both laser modification approaches the local growth of vertical aligned nanotubes has been observed. In the case of spin-coated film the laser irradiation conditions have only a small influence on the CNT growth whereas at backside modification by means of a solution a strong dependence on the laser processing parameters has been found.     

激光斜入射光阴极对束流质量的影响及其优化

 针对美国布鲁克海文国家实验室（BNL）型的光阴极微波电子枪,模拟了不同分布状态的驱动激光脉冲斜入射光阴极对束流质量的影响,给出了改变注入相位和补偿线圈磁场强度对发射度的优化结果。结果表明：光斑椭圆化将会导致发射度的大幅增长,优化效果不理想;波前不同步导致的发射度增长对于纵向高斯分布的脉冲可以得到理想的优化。对于斜入射引起的光斑椭圆化和波前不同步问题给出了光学校正方法及部分测量结果。此外,模拟结果显示,对于横向均匀分布的激光脉冲,适当椭圆度的光斑比圆形光斑更有利于提高电子束质量。     

Evaluation of probe lasers employed in optical diagnostics for phase transformation of thin films during excimer laser crystallization

The stability and reliability of probe laser is an important factor affecting the inspection of the phase transformation process of Si thin films during excimer laser crystallization using in-situ time-resolved optical measurements. The changes in 2D intensity profile, peak power density, and beam wander of the commonly used helium–neon (He–Ne) and diode laser are investigated experimentally. It is found that the peak power density of He–Ne laser is higher than that of diode laser, while the total power of He–Ne laser is lower than that of diode laser. Although the instability in the peak power density of He–Ne laser will increase with increasing the operation time, the beam stability of He–Ne laser is better than that of diode laser. For long-time operation (>24 h) of optical measurements, the diode laser is a good candidate of probe laser. Conversely, the diode laser is suitable for the short-time operation (<24 h) of optical measurements because the beam-wander is higher than that of He–Ne laser.     

激光斜入射光阴极对束流质量的影响及其优化

针对美国布鲁克海文国家实验室（BNL）型的光阴极微波电子枪,模拟了不同分布状态的驱动激光脉冲斜入射光阴极对束流质量的影响,给出了改变注入相位和补偿线圈磁场强度对发射度的优化结果。结果表明：光斑椭圆化将会导致发射度的大幅增长,优化效果不理想;波前不同步导致的发射度增长对于纵向高斯分布的脉冲可以得到理想的优化。对于斜入射引起的光斑椭圆化和波前不同步问题给出了光学校正方法及部分测量结果。此外,模拟结果显示,对于横向均匀分布的激光脉冲,适当椭圆度的光斑比圆形光斑更有利于提高电子束质量。     

Study of the pulsed laser vapor doping of Si(1 0 0) with KrF excimer laser and BCl3 gas

The properties of pulsed laser vapor doping on p-Si(1 0 0) with a KrF (248 nm) excimer pulsed laser (248 nm) and BCl₃ gas are reported in this paper. The doped samples are characterized by the resistance measured using a four-probe method, since the sheet resistance changes with the carrier concentration of the sample. The doping effects with the variation of laser energy density, pulse number, and the pressure of BCl₃ were investigated in terms of the sheet resistance. In this way, the optimized parameters were obtained and used for the positive heavy doping on p-Si(1 0 0) and p-Si(1 1 1). Then, using a square mesh under the above conditions, an image doping was completed. Finally, the metal–semiconductor Ohmic contacts were realized by plating Ag and Cu films on the doped surface.