Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-5g6vh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T13:02:54.368Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Scanning electron microscope studies on laser ablation of solids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2019

Mohamed E. Shaheen Open the ORCID record for Mohamed E. Shaheen [Opens in a new window] ,
Joel E. Gagnon  and
Brian J. Fryer
Mohamed E. Shaheen*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
Joel E. Gagnon
Affiliation:
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
Brian J. Fryer
Affiliation:
Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, N9B 3P4, Canada
*
Author for correspondence: Mohamed E. Shaheen, Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt, E-mails: mshaheen73@science.tanta.edu.eg and mshaheen73@yahoo.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates the interaction of picosecond laser pulses with sapphire and brass in air using scanning electron microscopy. A picosecond laser system operating at a wavelength of 785 nm, pulse width of 110 ps, and variable repetition rate (1–1000 Hz) was used in this study. The pulse width applied in this work was not widely investigated as it lies in the gap between ultrashort (femtosecond) and long (nanosecond) pulse width lasers. Different surface morphologies were identified using secondary electron and backscattered electron imaging of the ablated material. Thermal ablation effects were more dominant in brass than in sapphire. Exfoliation and fractures of sapphire were observed at high laser fluence. Compared with brass, multiple laser pulses were necessary to initiate ablation in sapphire due to its poor absorption to the incident laser wavelength. Ablation rate of sapphire was lower than that of brass due to the dissipation of a portion of the laser energy due to heating and fracturing of the surface.

Keywords

Brasslaser ablationpicosecondsapphireSEM
Type
Research Article
Information
Laser and Particle Beams , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 101 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akram, M, Bashir, S, Hayat, A, Mahmood, K, Ahmad, R and Khaleeq-U-Rahaman, M (2014) Effect of laser irradiance on the surface morphology and laser induced plasma parameters of zinc. Laser and Particle Beams 32, 119–128.Google Scholar
Ali, N, Bashir, S, Akram, M and Mahmood, K (2013) Effect of dry and wet ambient environment on the pulsed laser ablation of titanium. Applied Surface Science. Elsevier B.V. 270, 49–57.Google Scholar
Amoruso, S, Ausanio, G, Barone, AC, Bruzzese, R, Gragnaniello, L, Vitiello, M and Wang, X (2005) Ultrashort laser ablation of solid matter in vacuum: a comparison between the picosecond and femtosecond regimes. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics 38, L329–L338.Google Scholar
Ashkenasi, D, Rosenfeld, A, Varel, H, Wahmer, M and Campbell, EEB (1997) Laser processing of sapphire with picosecond and sub-picosecond pulses. Applied Surface Science 120, 65–80.Google Scholar
Balling, P and Schou, J (2013) Femtosecond-laser ablation dynamics of dielectrics: basics and applications for thin films. Reports on Progress in Physics 76, 036502.Google Scholar
Bashir, S, Rafique, MS, Nathala, CS and Husinsky, W (2013) Surface and structural modifications of titanium induced by various pulse energies of a femtosecond laser in liquid and dry environment. Applied Physics A 114, 243–251.Google Scholar
Bäuerle, D. (2011) Laser Processing and Chemistry, 4th Edn. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Ben-Yakar, A and Byer, RL (2004) Femtosecond laser ablation properties of borosilicate glass. Journal of Applied Physics 96, 5316–5323.Google Scholar
Brown, MS and Arnold, CB (2010) Fundamentals of laser-material interaction and application to multiscale surface modification in ‘Laser precision microfabrication’. In Sugioka, K, Meunier, M and Piqué, A (eds), Laser Precision Microfabrication, Springer Series in Materials Science. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 91–120.Google Scholar
Burakov, IM, Bulgakova, NM, Stoian, R, Rosenfeld, A and Hertel, IV (2005) Theoretical investigations of material modification using temporally shaped femtosecond laser pulses. Applied Physics A 81, 1639–1645.Google Scholar
Cui, L, Wang, GG, Zhang, HY, Han, JC, Kuang, XP, Tian, JL and Sun, R (2014) Fabrication of nanopatterned sapphire substrates by annealing of patterned Al thin films by Laser Interference Lithography. Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing 115, 159–165.Google Scholar
Dawood, A, Bashir, S, Akram, M, Hayat, A, Ahmed, S, Iqbal, MH and Kazmi, AH (2015) Effect of nature and pressure of ambient environments on the surface morphology, plasma parameters, hardness, and corrosion resistance of laser-irradiated Mg-alloy. Laser and Particle Beams 33, 315–330.Google Scholar
Gamaly, EG, Rode, AV, Luther-Davies, B and Tikhonchuk, VT (2002) Ablation of solids by femtosecond lasers: ablation mechanism and ablation thresholds for metals and dielectrics. Physics of Plasmas 9, 949–957.Google Scholar
Ganeev, RA (2014) Laser Surface Interactions. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London, New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Hashida, M, Semerok, AF, Gobert, O, Petite, G, Izawa, Y and Wagner, JF (2002) Ablation threshold dependence on pulse duration for copper. Applied Surface Science. 197–198, 862–867. Available at http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0169433202004634Google Scholar
Horisawa, H, Emura, H and Yasunaga, N (2004) Surface machining characteristics of sapphire with fifth harmonic YAG laser pulses. Vacuum 73, 661–666.Google Scholar
Hu, H, Wang, X and Zhai, H (2011) High-fluence femtosecond laser ablation of silica glass: effects of laser-induced pressure. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 44, 135202.Google Scholar
Hülsenberg, D, Harnisch, A and Bismarck, A (2008) Microstructuring of Glasses. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (Springer Series in Materials Science). doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-49888-9.Google Scholar
Ion, JC (2005) Laser Processing of Engineering Materials. Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.Google Scholar
Jelani, M, Bashir, S, Rehman, MK, Ahamad, R, Yousaf, D, Akram, M, Afzal, N, Chaudhry, M.U, Mahmood, K, Hayat, A and Ahmad, S (2013) Effect of laser fluence on surface, structural and mechanical properties of Zr after irradiation in the ambient environment of oxygen. The European Physical Journal D 67, 159.Google Scholar
Krstulović, N, Shannon, S, Stefanuik, R and Fanara, C (2013) Underwater-laser drilling of aluminum. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 69, 1765–1773.Google Scholar
Kumar, A, George, S, Singh, RK, Joshi, H and Nampoori, VPN (2011) Image analysis of expanding laser-produced lithium plasma plume in variable transverse magnetic field. Laser and Particle Beams 29, 241–247.Google Scholar
Le Harzic, R, Breitling, D, Weikert, M, Sommer, S, Fohl, C, Valette, S, Donnet, C, Audouard, E and Dausinger, F (2005) Pulse width and energy influence on laser micromachining of metals in a range of 100fs to 5ps. Applied Surface Science 249, 322–331.Google Scholar
Lenzner, M, Krüger, J, Kautek, W and Krausz, F (1999) Incubation of laser ablation in fused silica with 5-fs pulses. Applied Physics A Materials Science & Processing 69, 465–466.Google Scholar
Liu, X, Du, D and Mourou, G (1997) Laser ablation and micromachining with ultrashort laser pulses. IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics 33, 1706–1716.Google Scholar
Mannion, PT, Magee, J, Coyne, E, O'Connor, G.M and Glynn, TJ (2004) The effect of damage accumulation behaviour on ablation thresholds and damage morphology in ultrafast laser micro-machining of common metals in air. Applied Surface Science. Elsevier 233, 275–287.Google Scholar
Miotello, A and Ossi, PM (eds) (2010) Laser-Surface Interactions for New Materials Production. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Nedialkov, N.N, Imamov, S.E, Atanasov, P.A, Heusel, G, Breitling, D, Ruf, A, Hügel, H, Dausinger, F and Berger, P (2004) Laser ablation of iron by ultrashort laser pulses. Thin Solid Films 453–454, 496–500.Google Scholar
Perez, D and Lewis, L (2002) Ablation of solids under femtosecond laser pulses. Physical Review Letters 89, 255504.Google Scholar
Qi, L, Nishii, K, Yasui, M, Aoki, H and Namba, Y (2010) Femtosecond laser ablation of sapphire on different crystallographic facet planes by single and multiple laser pulses irradiation. Optics and Lasers in Engineering. Elsevier 48, 1000–1007.Google Scholar
Semerok, A, Chaleard, C, Detalle, V, Lacour, J.-L, Mauchien, P, Meynadier, P, Nouvellon, C, Salle, B, Palianov, P, Perdrix, M and Petite, G (1999) Experimental investigations of laser ablation efficiency of pure metals with femto, pico and nanosecond pulses. Applied Surface 138–139, 311–314.Google Scholar
Shah, L, Tawney, J, Richardson, M and Richardson, K (2004) Self-focusing during femtosecond micromachining of silicate glasses. IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics 40, 57–68.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME and Fryer, BJ (2012) Femtosecond laser ablation of brass: a study of surface morphology and ablation rate. Laser and Particle Beams 30, 473–479.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2013 a) Femtosecond laser ablation of brass in air and liquid media. Journal of Applied Physics 113, 213106.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2013 b) Laser ablation of iron: a comparison between femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses. Journal of Applied Physics 114, 083110.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2014) Femtosecond laser ablation behavior of gold, crystalline silicon, and fused silica: a comparative study. Laser Physics 24, 106102.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2015 a) Elemental fractionation in 785 nm picosecond and femtosecond laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Spectrochimica Acta – Part B Atomic Spectroscopy 107, 97–109.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2015 b) Experimental study on 785 nm femtosecond laser ablation of sapphire in air. Laser Physics Letters 12, 066103.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2016) Excimer laser ablation of aluminum: influence of spot size on ablation rate. Laser Physics 26, 116102.Google Scholar
Shaheen, ME, Gagnon, JE and Fryer, BJ (2019) Studies on laser ablation of silicon using near IR picosecond and deep UV nanosecond lasers. Optics and Lasers in Engineering. 119, 18–25.Google Scholar
Stafe, M, Marcu, A and Puscas, NN (2014) Pulsed Laser Ablation of Solids. In Ertl, G, Lüth, H and Mills, DL (eds), Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (Springer Series in Surface Sciences). doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-40978-3Google Scholar
Stuart, BC, Feit, MD, Herman, S, Rubenchik, AM, Shore, BW and Perry, MD (1996) Nanosecond-to-femtosecond laser-induced breakdown in dielectrics. Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter 53, 1749–1761. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9983633.Google Scholar
Vilar, R, Sharma, SP, Almeida, A, Cangueiro, LT and Oliveira, V (2014) Surface morphology and phase transformations of femtosecond laser-processed sapphire. Applied Surface Science 288, 313–323.Google Scholar
von der Linde, D and Sokolowski-Tinten, K (2000) The physical mechanisms of short-pulse laser ablation. Applied Surface Science 154–155, 1–10.Google Scholar
Wilder-Smith, P, Lin, S, Nguyen, A, Liaw, LH, Arrastia, AM, Lee, JP and Berns, MW (1997) Morphological effects of ArF excimer laser irradiation on enamel and dentin. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 20, 142–148. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9047167Google Scholar
Williams, DB and Carter, CB (2009) Transmission Electron Microscopy, A Text Book for Material Science. New York, USA: Springer Science & Business Media. Available at http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128052563000040Google Scholar
Wu, P-H, Yu, X-Y, Cheng, C-W, Liao, C-H, Feng, S-W and Wang, H-C (2011) Ultrafast ablation dynamics in fused silica with a white light beam probe. Optics Express 19, 16390.Google Scholar
Zhou, Y and Wu, B (2010) Experimental study on infrared nanosecond laser-induced backside ablation of sapphire. Journal of Manufacturing Processes 12, 57–61.Google Scholar