Femtosecond laser processing of indium-tin-oxide thin films

Micro- and nano-scale crystalline indium-tin-oxide (c-ITO) patterns fabricated from amorphous ITO (a-ITO) thin films on a glass substrate using a (low NA 0.26) femtosecond laser pulse that is not tightly focused are demonstrated. Different types of c-ITO patterns are obtained by controlling the laser pulse energies and pulse repetition rate of a femtosecond laser beam at a wavelength of 1064 nm: periodic micro c-ITO dots with diameters of ~1.4 μm, two parallel c-ITO patterns with/without periodic-like glass nanostructures at a laser scanning path and nano-scale c-ITO line patterns with a line width ~900 nm, i.e. ~1/8 of the focused beam׳s diameter (7 μm at 1/e²).     

Femtosecond and nanosecond laser damage thresholds of doped and undoped triazenepolymer thin films

The influence of pulse duration on the laser-induced damage in undoped or infrared-absorbing-dye doped thin triazenepolymer films on glass substrates has been investigated for single, near-infrared (800 nm) Ti:sapphire laser pulses with durations ranging from 130 fs up to 540 fs and complementarily for infrared (1064 nm) Nd:YAG ns-laser single-pulse irradiation. The triazenepolymer material has been developed for high resolution ablation with irradiation at 308 nm. Post-irradiation optical microscopy observations have been used to determine quantitatively the threshold fluence for permanent laser damage. In contrast to our previous studies on a triazenepolymer with different composition [J. Bonse, S.M. Wiggins, J. Solis, T. Lippert, Appl. Surf. Sci. 247 (2005) 440], a significant dependence of the damage threshold on the pulse duration is found in the sub-picosecond regime with values ranging from ∼500 mJ/cm² (130 fs) up to ∼1500 mJ/cm² (540 fs). Other parameters such as the film thickness (50 nm and 1.1 μm samples) or the doping level show no significant influence on the material behavior upon irradiation. The results for fs- and ns-laser pulse irradiation are compared and analyzed in terms of existent ablation models.     

Preparation and tribological tests of thin fluoroorganic films

Adhesion, friction and consequent wear of sliding surfaces are the basic problems that limit the performance and reliability of microelectromechanical devices. Lubrication of these nano- and microscale contacts is different from traditional lubricants. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) chemically bonded to the substrate are considered to be the best solution of lubrication. The majority of these monolayers are hydrophobic providing low friction, adhesion and wear.Chemical vapor deposition was used to grow a fluorosilane film on silicon Si(1 0 0) and a condensed monolayer of 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) on Au(1 1 1). The films were characterized by means of a contact angle analyzer for hydrophobicity, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) for identification of thin fluoroorganic monolayers deposited on silica surfaces and condensed monolayer MPTMS. Adhesion and friction measurements were performed using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and compared with measurements performed using a microtribometer operating in millinewton (mN) normal load range. Nanotribological measurements indicated that silica and MPTMS modified by fluorosilanes have the lowest friction coefficient and indicated a decrease friction coefficient with increasing fluoric alkyl chain length.     

Femtosecond cubic optical nonlinearity of thin nickel films

Transient pump-probe measurements of circular anisotropy in nickel films induced by 38-fs optical pulses show an instantaneous response that is related to the optical orientation of the spins of free electrons. Measurements in a sample of variable thickness, performed in both transmission and reflection, revealed that the surface significantly influences the degenerate cubic optical nonlinearity of the nickel films to a depth of approximately 4-5 nm into the bulk.     

Femtosecond laser ablation of cemented carbides: properties and tribological applications

Laser ablation with fs laser pulses was performed in air on cobalt cemented tungsten carbide by means of a Ti : sapphire laser (800 nm, 100 fs). Small and moderate fluences (2, 5, 10 J/cm²) and up to 5×10⁴ pulses per irradiated spot were used to drill holes with aspect ratios up to 10. Cross-section cuts from laser-irradiated samples were produced and they were analysed with optical microscopy and SEM. EDX analyses were carried out on selected zones. Quasi-cylindrical holes were found for 2 J/cm², whereas for 5 and 10 J/cm² irregular shapes (lobes, bottoms wider than hole entrances) were found to occur after a given number of incident pulses. Layers with modified structure were evidenced at pore walls. SEM revealed a denser structure, while EDX analyses showed uniform and almost similar contents of W, C, and Co in these layers. As a direct application, patterning of coated WC-Co was carried out with 2 J/cm² and 100 pulses per pore. The resulted surfaces were tribologically tested and these tests revealed an improved friction and wear behaviour. PACS 42.65.Cs; 79.60.Ds     

Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation of thin gold film

Laser micromachining on 1000 nm-thick gold film using femtosecond laser has been studied. The laser pulses that are used for this study are 400 nm in central wavelength, 150 fs in pulse duration, and the repetition rate is 1 kHz. Plano-concave lens with a focal length of 19 mm focuses the laser beam into a spot of 3 μm (1/e² diameter). The sample was translated at a linear speed of 400 μm/s during machining. Grooves were cut on gold thin film with laser pulses of various energies. The ablation depths were measured and plotted. There are two ablation regimes. In the first regime, the cutting is very shallow and the edges are free of molten material. While in the second regime, molten material appears and the cutting edges are contaminated. The results suggest that clean and precise microstructuring can be achieved with femtosecond pulsed laser by controlling the pulse energy in the first ablation regime.     

Femtosecond dynamics of Co thin films on Si support

The ultrafast electron and spin dynamics of Co films was investigated using a femto-second pump-probe technique. The samples were magnetically characterized by means of magnetooptical Kerr effect and non-optical magnetometers, i.e. superconductive quantum interference device and alternating gradient field magnetometer. Time evolution of both, Kerr rotation and ellipticity, was measured at different points of the static hysteresis cycle. This allowed separating magnetic and non-magnetic contributions to the signal. The sample magnetization was found to drop within 200 fs, following the pulse cross-correlation trace, while the magnetization recovery time was found to last few picoseconds.     

Excimer laser processing of ZnO thin films prepared by the sol-gel process

ZnO thin films were prepared on soda-lime glass from a single spin-coating deposition of a sol-gel prepared with anhydrous zinc acetate [Zn(C₂H₃O₂)₂], monoethanolamine [H₂NC₂H₄OH] and isopropanol. The deposited films were dried at 50 and 300 °C. X-ray analysis showed that the films were amorphous. Laser annealing was performed using an excimer laser. The laser pulse repetition rate was 25 Hz with a pulse energy of 5.9 mJ, giving a fluence of 225 mJ cm⁻² on the ZnO film. Typically, five laser pulses per unit area of the film were used. After laser processing, the hexagonal wurtzite phase of zinc oxide was observed from X-ray diffraction pattern analysis. The thin films had a transparency of greater than 70% in the visible region. The optical band-gap energy was 3.454 eV. Scanning electron microscopy and profilometry analysis highlighted the change in morphology that occurred as a result of laser processing. This comparative study shows that our sol-gel processing route differs significantly from ZnO sol-gel films prepared by conventional furnace annealing which requires temperatures above 450 °C for the formation of crystalline ZnO.     

Femtosecond pulse crystallization of thin amorphous hydrogenated films on glass substrates using near ultraviolet laser radiation

Femtosecond laser treatments (second harmonic of Ti-sapphire laser, λ ≈ 400 nm wavelength, <30 fs pulse duration) were applied for crystallization of thin hydrogenated amorphous silicon films on glass substrates. The concentration of atomic hydrogen in the films was varied from 10 to ≈35%. The energy densities (laser fluences) for crystallization of the films with thicknesses from 20 to 130 nm were found. Assumedly, non-thermal processes (plasma annealing) take place in phase transition caused ultra-fast pulses. The developed approach can be used for creation of polycrystalline silicon films on non-refractory substrates.     

Study of the substructure in nanometer copper thin films treated by laser shock processing

We study nanometer copper thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering and treated with laser shock processing (LSP). We observe the formation of firstborn twin crystals and some complete twin crystals in the copper thin films. After LSP, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show obvious plastic deformation of the copper grain on the film surface, dramatically increased grain size, and the appearance of a large number of twin crystals. Moreover, the width of the crystals is a few dozen nanometers, and the cross angle is more than or close to 90°.Many vacancy defects appear during the sliding of atomic plane, which leads to a faulty structure; however, no obvious dislocation is observed. These substructures play a significant role in improving the mechanical performance of nanometer copper thin films.     

Synthesis of TiN thin films by a new combined laser/sol-gel processing technique

In this work a novel method for synthesising TiN coatings is reported. A high-power diode laser at different powers and traverse speeds was applied to a mild steel substrate, coated with a slurry of titania sol-gel, urea and graphite. The reaction chemical thermodynamics was investigated to estimate the compositions, temperature range, and the required reaction enthalpy for producing TiN. A one-dimensional heat transfer model was used to optimise the processing parameters. Surface morphology and microstructure of the deposited coatings and substrate surface layers were examined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope, and field emission gun scanning electron microscope which reveals deposition of very thin layer about 0.3 μm of pure TiN and the presence of sub-micron crystalline structure of TiN forming a metal matrix composite inter-layer with the substrate below the film which suggest a good metallurgically bonding with the substrate. Chemical composition was determined by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The phases were identified by X-ray diffraction which confirms the synthesis of TiN film for all the samples. Results of nano-hardness measurements revealed a hardness value of the order of 22-27 GPa.     

Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation of diamond-like carbon films on silicon

Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation (τ = 120 fs, λ = 800 nm, repetition rate = 1 kHz) of thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on silicon was conducted in air using a direct focusing technique for estimating ablation threshold and investigating the influence of ablation parameter on the morphological features of ablated regions. The single-pulse ablation threshold estimated by two different methods were ?_th(1) = 2.43 and 2.51 J/cm². The morphological changes were evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy. A comparison with picosecond pulsed laser ablation shows lower threshold and reduced collateral thermal damage.     

Carbon thin films through laser ablation

Thin carbon films were deposited on silicon substrates at room temperature using a 0.355 μm Nd:YAG laser wavelength at low irradiance in the presence of argon gas. Various techniques including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to analyze the film quality. The influence of the argon gas pressure on the properties of the films is demonstrated and a correlation with the optical emission data is presented.     

Pulsed laser deposition of amorphous carbon nitride thin films and their electrical properties

Amorphous carbon nitride thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition combined with a nitrogen rf radical beam source. A structural characterization of the deposited films was performed using X-ray photoelectron and Raman-scattering spectroscopy. The Raman spectra showed that the dominant hybridization state of carbon atoms in the deposited film is sp². N 1s electron spectra were deconvoluted into three components, N bonded to pyridine-like N and/or N-sp³C (N1), substitutional N in graphite (N2), and N-O and/or N-N (N3). The proportion of N1 increased with increasing N/C atomic ratio in the film. The electrical conductivity at room temperature decreased and the Tauc optical band gap increased with increasing N/C atomic ratio. The temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity indicated that electronic conduction occurred by variable range hopping between electron localized states. The decrease in electrical conductivity with increasing N/C atomic ratio was caused by a strong electron localization due to the increased proportion of N1. PACS 81.05.Uw; 81-15.Fg; 73.61.Jc     

Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation of 3CSiC thin film on silicon

A femtosecond pulsed Ti:sapphire laser (pulse width=120 fs, wavelength=800 nm, repetition rate=1 kHz) was employed to perform laser ablation of 1-m-thick silicon carbide (3CSiC) films grown on silicon substrates. The threshold fluence and ablation rate, useful for the micromachining of the 3CSiC films, were experimentally determined. The material removal mechanisms vary depending on the applied energy fluence. At high laser fluence, a thermally dominated process such as melting, boiling and vaporizing of single-crystal SiC occurs. At low laser fluence, the ablation is a defect-activation process via incubation, defect accumulation, formation of nanoparticles and final vaporization of boundaries. The defect-activation process reduces the ablation threshold fluence and enhances lateral and vertical precision as compared to the thermally dominated mechanism. Helium, as an assistant gas, plays a major role in improving the processing quality and ablation rate of SiC thin films due to its inertness and high first ionization energy. PACS 79.20.Ds; 42.62.Cf; 42.70.Qs; 61.72; 61.46     

Femtosecond laser induced index and relief gratings in polymer films

A true single-step process suitable for fabrication of micro-periodic structure in polymer films by two photon initiated photopolymerization and laser ablation is presented. By the right choice of the irradiation energy, the irradiated zone is modified or ablated in the 1.44-μm-thick film. The mechanism of grating generation and the potential application of the gratings in integrated optics are discussed.