Laser damage studies of silicon surfaces using ultra-short laser pulses

A comparative study of damage morphology in GaAs induced by s- , p- and linearly polarized laser light (1.064 μm, 35 ps) is presented. For linearly polarized light damage initiates in the form of pits. This material damage occurs below the surface. For s- or p-polarized light material damage involves only the surface layer. For larger fluences or number of pulses the differences are less marked and the damage morphology occurs in a similar manner either for linearly polarized or s- or p-polarized light. Ripples are formed when multiple irradiation is used due to interference between the front and back faces of the test sample. The spacing of these ripples is 3 μm, which is in good accordance with the reported work of Guosheng et al. (Phys. Rev. B 26 (1982) 5366).