Copper oxide particles produced by laser ablation in water

Laser ablation of copper metal in water was performed in order to obtain copper oxide particles. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and electron diffraction were conducted in order to determine the size, shape and structure of the particles. The source of the O atoms in the copper oxide particles is the surrounding water molecules. The copper oxide particles obtained by laser ablation were both crystalline and amorphous. The crystalline particles were determined to be paramelaconite Cu₄O₃.     

Selective laser processing of ink-jet printed nano-scaled tin-clad copper particles

The deposition of tin-clad nano-size copper particles was carried out by means of ink-jet printing. Curing the particles on Polyimide (PI) turned them into soldered structures using an Nd-YAG laser. Area coverage of 55% was achieved for a single-layer print. Subsequent laser sintering increased this value to 95%. A Butanol-based copper ink and an aqueous tin (Sn)-clad Copper (Cu) ink were produced and were ink-jetted in this work. These nano-metallic inks showed excellent suspension stability with particle weight concentrations as high as 5%. The ink components were examined by measuring the particle size distribution in a dispersed condition, and the melting temperature. A piezo ink-jet print head was used to deposit the inks onto a moveable substrate. The thermal effect of the laser irradiation allowed approaching and connecting adjacent particles by melting the particle’s tin coating. The results were examined with regard to structure and soldering properties using EDX, SEM and optical microscopy.     

Ultrafast laser ablation for restoration of heritage objects

Powerful ultrafast laser pulses have a unique capability to ablate material from the surface without heat propagation into the bulk due to the non-linear nature of the laser-surface interaction. This quality offers a new application of ultrafast lasers for restoration of objects of art and heritage artefacts. We discuss the laser-based cleaning methods used in art restoration, analyse the potential advantages and challenges of using ultrafast laser pulses, and present new encouraging results on using ultrafast lasers in the field of heritage conservation.     

Synthesis of nanosized particles during laser ablation of gold in water

In this paper we report the formation of gold nanoparticles during laser ablation of gold target in water in the absence of any additives. The experiments were carried out by using the radiation of the pulsed Nd:YAG laser, operating at the second (532 nm, 10 ns, 10 Hz), or the fourth harmonic (266 nm) wavelengths. The properties of the nanoparticles were found to be susceptible to the additional 532 and 266 nm laser irradiation. It has been established that both the mean size of the nanoparticles and their stability could be varied by proper selection of the parameters of laser ablation and postirradiation such as laser fluence and wavelength combinations.     

Ultrafast laser spectroscopy of semiconductor nanocrystals

A large amount of work has been worldwide directed to understand the properties of semiconductor nanostructures. Ultrafast lasers with pulsewidths of a few femtoseconds allowed the investigation of the dynamics of elementary excitations in semiconductor structures on ultrashort time scales. Recent progress in technology made it possible to fabricate semiconductor nanocrystals (i.e. crystals of nanometer dimensions) of well-defined properties. The purpose of this paper is to review the understanding of carrier relaxation and recombination processes in semiconductor nanocrystals as studied by ultrafast laser spectroscopy. The up-to-date techniques of ultrafast laser spectroscopy as well as the fabrication of semiconductor nanocrystals are discussed in some detail.     

Ultrafast laser system based on noncollinear optical parametric amplification for laser spectroscopy

We report the experimental demonstration of transform-limited sub-6 fs pulses at an optimal central wavelength by a tunable noncollinear optical parametric amplification(NOPA) source. Meanwhile, a white light continuum in the near-infrared(NIR) range from 900 to 1100 nm is also successfully generated by focusing the unconverted800 nm beam during NOPA generation on a sapphire rod. Both visible-pump/visible-probe and visible-pump/NIR-probe experiments are realized using the same laser system. As examples, ultrafast photo-induced exciton dynamics inside two kinds of materials are investigated by the visible-pump/visible-probe and visible-pump/NIR-probe spectroscopy, respectively.     

Ultrafast molecular dissociation of water in ice

Using x-ray emission and photoemission spectroscopies to measure the occupied valence levels in a thin crystalline ice film, we resolve the ionization-induced dissociation of water in ice on a femtosecond time scale. Isotope substitution confirms proton transfer during the core-hole lifetime in spite of the nonresonant excitation. Through ab initio molecular dynamics on the core-ionized state, the dissociation and spectrum evolution are followed at femtosecond intervals. The theoretical simulations confirm the experimental analysis and allow for a detailed study of the dissociative reaction path.     

Ultrafast intensity modulation by Raman gain for all-optical in-fiber processing

We present experimental results on ultrafast intensity modulation using the Raman effect and demonstrate 10-Gbit/s selective pulse erasure. The technique is both broadband and polarization insensitive and has a potential speed in excess of 500 Gbits/s. In addition to performing pulse erasure, this all-optical modulator can shape pulses as a precise, soft aperture scalpel and create short, dark pulses.     

Ultrafast laser fabrication of submicrometer pores in borosilicate glass

We demonstrate rapid fabrication of submicrometer-diameter pores in borosilicate glass using femtosecond laser machining and subsequent wet-etch techniques. This approach allows direct and repeatable fabrication of high-quality pores with diameters of 400-800 nm. Such small pores coupled with the desirable electrical and chemical properties of glass enable sensitive resistive-pulse analysis to determine the size and concentration of macromolecules and nanoparticles. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition allows further reduction of pore diameters to below 300 nm.     

Matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation processing of triacetate-pullulan polysaccharide thin films for drug delivery systems

We report the first successful deposition of triacetate-pullulan polysaccharide thin films by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation. We used a KrF* excimer laser source (λ = 248 nm, τ ≈ 20 ns) operated at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. We demonstrated by FTIR that our thin films are composed of triacetate-pullulan maintaining its chemical structure and functionality. The dependence on incident laser fluence of the induced surface morphology is analysed.     

Ultrafast laser machining of tapered microchannels in glass and PDMS

The ability to fabricate tapered microchannels with customizable cross sections in a variety of materials is highly desirable for microfluidic applications. This article examines ultrafast laser machining of tapered microchannel trenches in both hard (soda-lime and borosilicate glasses) and soft (PDMS elastomer) transparent solids. A simple model for channel width and depth as a function of processing parameters and threshold fluence is presented. Estimated channel sizes from the model are in good agreement with experimental results. We also show that the channel depth is a linear function of the number of laser pulses per channel width. All measurement data are found to collapse onto a single curve, which can serve as a useful guide for micromachining of tapered channels in transparent materials.     

Ultrafast laser assisted fabrication of ZnO nanorod arrays for photon detection applications

Orderly aligned ZnO nanorod arrays were grown by the ultrafast laser assisted ablation deposition method. These nanorod arrays were further used to make efficient p-n heterojunction photodetector arrays, which have the potential to have nanoscale spatial resolution for imaging, unique incident polarization discrimination capability, and much improved quantum efficiency as well as detection sensitivity. Both front- and back-illumination photodetection schemes were demonstrated by growing those ZnO nanorod arrays on p-type silicon and p-type Zn_0.9Mg_0.1O-coated Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1) substrates, respectively. Typical diode rectification behavior and photosensitivity were observed in both designs through I-V and photocurrent measurements.     

飞秒脉冲烧蚀单晶硅的超快动力学

利用基于Pump-probe系统的超快时间分辨阴影图的方法,研究了空气中飞秒激光烧蚀单晶硅的动力学过程。实验采用脉宽为50 fs、平均能量密度约35 J/cm2的单脉冲激光烧蚀单晶硅,获取飞秒激光烧蚀单晶硅过程中等离子体和冲击波的形成和发展过程的时间分辨阴影图。实验结果表明：飞秒激光烧蚀单晶硅导致其表面物质喷发的过程是不连续的,分为明显的两次喷发过程。这表明飞秒激光与单晶硅作用的过程中,在不同的时间段可能由不同的机制主导,在前期可能是多光子电离为主,在后期可能是由多光子效应和雪崩效应共同作用。研究还发现,延迟时间较长时,冲击波形状发生畸变。     

Ultrafast delocalization of hydrogen atoms in allene in intense laser fields

Ultrafast delocalization of hydrogen atoms in allene (CH₂=C=CH₂) induced by intense laser fields was investigated by the Coulomb explosion coincidence momentum imaging method. On the basis of the kinetic energy distributions of the fragment ions produced through the two three-body Coulomb explosion pathways, C₃H₄³⁺ ? H⁺ + CH⁺ + C₂H₂⁺\mathrm{C}_{3}\mathrm{H}_{4}^{3+} \rightarrow \mathrm{H}^{+} + \mathrm{CH}^{+} + \mathrm{C}_{2}\mathrm{H}_{2}^{+} and C₃H₄³⁺ ? H⁺ + C₂H⁺ +CH₂⁺\mathrm{C}_{3}\mathrm{H}_{4}^{3+} \rightarrow \mathrm{H}^{+} + \mathrm{C}_{2}\mathrm{H}^{+} +\mathrm{CH}_{2}^{+}, and the proton maps for both pathways, it was shown that the decomposition proceeds in a stepwise manner as well as in a concerted manner. The time scale of the hydrogen migration within an allene molecule was estimated to be ∼20 fs.     

Ultrafast laser melting of Au nanoparticles: atomistic simulations

In spite of the technological importance of laser modification and processing of nanoparticles, the interaction of laser energy with nanoparticles is not well understood. In this work, integrated molecular dynamics (MD) and two-temperature (TTM) computational models have been developed to study ultrafast laser interaction with free Au nanoparticles with sizes 2.44–6.14 nm. At low intensity, when surface premelting and solid–liquid phase transition dominate, a nonhomogeneous surface premelting mechanism was identified. The appearance of a contiguous surface liquid layer (complete surface premelting) is size dependent and is not related to surface premelting history. The effects of temporary superheating and stable supercooling of nanoparticles were found and examined.     

Ultrafast laser ablation of metal films on flexible substrates

For the development of organic electronics on flexible substrates, we study the potentialities of direct laser patterning of conductive films deposited on plastic foils. The materials under study are silver and platinum films (100-nm thick) deposited on Kapton^® substrates. The experiments are done using a laser source operating at 1030 nm, 500 fs, under different irradiation conditions: single and multiple pulses at various frequencies. The laser ablation thresholds are measured and the ablation morphologies are analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. The results of these investigations show that photomechanical effects lead to delamination of the film and that depending of the irradiation conditions, incubation or heat accumulation effects can occur. The experimental results are compared to simulations based on the two-temperature model. Particularly we study the heat accumulation effects that can occur in the case of multiple pulses and that are detrimental for plastic substrates.