Direct Fabrication of Te-Doped Black Si with an Enhanced Photoelectric Performance by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation under Water.

Tellurium (Te)-doped black silicon (Si) with enhanced absorption and photoelectric performance over a broad wavelength range of 0.2-2.5 µm was obtained using femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation in liquid water. Prior to laser irradiation, the Si sample was covered with a Te thin film (thickness 200 nm) over an adhesion layer of Cr (thickness 5 nm). Surface analyses by scanning electron microscopy and three-dimensional confocal microscopy evidence the presence of hierarchical surface structures combining quasi-periodic stripes with a spatial period of about 5 µm and subwavelength laser-induced periodic surface structures directed in directions parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the laser polarization, respectively. Moreover, the incorporation of Te generates intermediate levels within the Si bandgap. The Te-doped black Si shows a significant enhancement of the absorption, which reaches values of about 48% in the UV and visible (0.2-1.1 µm) and 70% in the near-infrared (1.1-2.5 µm) spectral ranges, respectively, due to the synergistic effects of multiscale surface structures and Te incorporation. Moreover, the surface reflectance is reduced to almost zero across the entire spectrum. The Te-doped black Si sample is used to realize a photodetector which displays an impressive photoelectric capability, being characterized by a responsivity of 328 mA/W, and an external quantum efficiency of 49.27% at a voltage bias of -10 V for 1064 nm light illumination, with rising and falling times of 55 and 67 ms, respectively. These figures remarkably outperform the response of unprocessed Si under the same experimental conditions.

Periodic Surface Structuring of Copper with Spherical and Cylindrical Lenses.

The use of a cylindrical lens in femtosecond laser surface structuring is receiving attention to improve the processing efficiency. Here, we investigate the structures produced on a copper target, in air, by exploiting both spherical and cylindrical lenses for beam focusing, aiming at elucidating similarities and differences of the two approaches. The morphological features of the surface structures generated by ≈180 fs laser pulses at 1030 nm over areas of 8 × 8 mm2 were analyzed. For the spherical lens, micron-sized parallel channels are formed on the target surface, which is covered by subwavelength ripples and nanoparticles. Instead, the cylindrical lens leads to a surface decorated with ripples and nanoparticles with a negligible presence of micro-channels. Moreover, the morphological features achieved by focusing ≈180 fs laser pulses at 515 nm with the cylindrical lens and varying the scanning parameters were also studied. The experimental results evidence a direct effect of the hatch distance used in the scanning process on the target surface that contains dark and bright bands corresponding to regions where the rippled surface contains a richer decoration or a negligible redeposition of nanoparticles. Our findings can be of interest in large area surface structuring for the selection of the more appropriate focusing configuration according to the final application of the structured surface.

Generation of Supra-Wavelength Grooves in Femtosecond Laser Surface Structuring of Silicon.

Extensive research work has been carried out on the generation and application of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). LIPSS with a sub-wavelength period generated by femtosecond laser irradiation, generally indicated as ripples, have been extensively investigated. Instead, the other ordered surface structures characterized by a supra-wavelength period, indicated as grooves, have been much less studied. Grooves typically form at larger irradiance levels or for higher number of laser pulses. Here, we report a comprehensive overview of recent investigations on the supra-wavelength grooves formed on crystalline silicon irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses. The authors' recent experimental work is mainly addressed giving an explicit picture of the grooves generation process, namely illustrating the influence of the various experimental parameters, including, e.g., polarization, wavelength, fluence and repetition rate of the laser beam as well as number of laser pulses hitting the surface of the material. The effect of irradiation of a static or moving target and of the environmental conditions (e.g., vacuum or air ambient) will also be discussed. Finally, possible mechanisms envisaged to explain grooves formation and still open issues are briefly discussed.

Parameter optimization of a visibility LiDAR for sea-fog early warnings.

Sea fog represents a significant risk for safe navigation of sea vessels. Visibility LiDAR systems might offer a striking way to reduce the risks associated with sea fog, but they should be appropriately designed to provide a proper level of detection for reliable forewarning of sea fog. Here we analyze the performances of a visibility LiDAR system with the aim of achieving optimal detection operation. A series of echo signals are simulated under different visibility conditions addressing the influence of the various hardware parameters on the final system performances and defining an optimal visibility LiDAR configuration. Using the optimized parameters, a visibility LiDAR system was realized and tested in a field campaign on Hengsha Island (Shanghai). The experimental findings obtained by the visibility LiDAR are compared with results of a forward scattering visibility meter showing good consistency in homogeneous atmosphere, while even superior performances are observed for inhomogeneous atmospheric conditions. Our experimental results indicate that an optimized visibility LiDAR can provide an early warning for light fog located at a distance of 5 km, i.e. about 3.5 hours in advance to the spreading of the fog to the shore. These findings demonstrate the good performances of the visibility LiDAR developed in the present study in performing visibility measurements and its capability of providing sea-fog warning.

Surface structures with unconventional patterns and shapes generated by femtosecond structured light fields.

We present an investigation on ultrashort laser surface structuring with structured light fields generated by various q-plates. In particular, q-plates with topological charges q = 1, 3/2, 2, 5/2 are used to generate femtosecond (fs) vector vortex beams, and form complex periodic surface structures through multi-pulse ablation of a solid crystalline silicon target. We show how optical retardation tuning of the q-plate offers a feasible way to vary the fluence transverse distribution of the beam, thus allowing the production of structures with peculiar shapes, which depend on the value of q. The features of the generated surface structures are compared with the vector vortex beam characteristics at the focal plane, by rationalizing their relationship with the local state of the laser light. Our experimental findings demonstrate how irradiation with fs complex light beams can offer a valuable route to design unconventional surface structures.

Analysis of nascent silicon phase-change gratings induced by femtosecond laser irradiation in vacuum.

The formation of periodic surface structures is a general effect of femtosecond laser irradiation of solid targets showing promising interest in material science and technology. However, the experiments are typically carried out in air, a condition in which the target surface becomes densely decorated with nanoparticles that can influence the formation of the surface structures in the early stage of the irradiation process. Here we report an investigation of structures generation on a silicon surface irradiated in vacuum (10-5 mbar) with a low number of laser pulses (N ≤ 10) that exploits several microscopy techniques (optical, atomic force, electron and Raman). Our analyses allow identifying the creation of silicon phase-change gratings consisting of alternating amorphous and crystalline periodic lines, with almost no material removal, located at the periphery of a shallow ablation crater. These gratings originate from two different kinds of defects: (i) the first is characterized by a peculiar lobed shape that is produced by the first few laser pulses; (ii) the second is provided by the one-dimensional, linear singularity defined by the ablation edge of the nascent crater. Both kind of defects lead to grating structures extending outwards the amorphous central area of the crater along the direction of the laser polarization. Comparative analysis with the surface formed in air, in the same experimental conditions, evidences the important role played by nanoparticles densely decorating the target in air and the striking variation occurring in vacuum.

Surface Structuring with Polarization-Singular Femtosecond Laser Beams Generated by a q-plate.

In the last few years femtosecond optical vortex beams with different spatial distributions of the state of polarization (e.g. azimuthal, radial, spiral, etc.) have been used to generate complex, regular surface patterns on different materials. Here we present an experimental investigation on direct femtosecond laser surface structuring based on a larger class of vector beams generated by means of a q-plate with topological charge q = +1/2. In fact, voltage tuning of q-plate optical retardation allows generating a family of ultrashort laser beams with a continuous spatial evolution of polarization and fluence distribution in the focal plane. These beams can be thought of as a controlled coherent superposition of a Gaussian beam with uniform polarization and a vortex beam with a radial or azimuthal state of polarization. The use of this family of ultrashort laser beams in surface structuring leads to a further extension of the achievable surface patterns. The comparison of theoretical predictions of the vector beam characteristics at the focal plane and the generated surface patterns is used to rationalize the dependence of the surface structures on the local state of the laser beam, thus offering an effective way to either design unconventional surface structures or diagnose complex ultrashort laser beams.

Chromatic annuli formation and sample oxidation on copper thin films by femtosecond laser.

We report an experimental investigation on the irradiation of copper thin films with high repetition rate femtosecond laser pulses (1040 nm, 50 MHz), in ambient air and liquid water. We observe a novel, striking phenomenon of chromatic copper oxides (CuO and Cu2O) annuli generation. The characteristic features of the chromatic copper oxide annuli are studied by exploiting micro-Raman spectroscopy, optical and scanning electron microscopies. In the case of irradiation in water, the seldom investigated effects of the immersion time, tw, after irradiation with a fixed number of pulses are analyzed, and an intriguing dependence of the color of the chromatic annuli on tw is observed. This remarkable behavior is explained by proposing an interpretation scenario addressing the various processes involved in the process. Our experimental findings show that Cu2O nanoparticles (size of ≈20 nm) and Cu2O nanocubes (nanocube edges of ≈30, ≈60 nm) can be effectively generated by exploiting high repetition rate laser-assisted oxidation.

On the generation of grooves on crystalline silicon irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses.

Irradiation of crystalline silicon with femtosecond laser pulses produces a variety of quasi-periodic surface structures, among which sub-wavelength ripples creation is largely studied. Here we report an experimental investigation and a theoretical interpretation focusing on the seldom considered issue of quasi-periodic, micron spaced grooves formation. We characterize the morphological evolution of the grooves generation and experimentally single out the variation of the threshold fluence for their formation with the number of pulses N, while typical ripples simultaneously produced in the irradiated area are always considered for comparison. Our experimental findings evidence a power law dependence of the threshold fluence on the number of pulses both for ripples and grooves formation, typical of an incubation behavior. The incubation factor and single pulse threshold are (0.76 ± 0.04) and (0.20 ± 0.04) J/cm2 for ripples and (0.84 ± 0.03) and (0.54 ± 0.08) J/cm2 for grooves, respectively. Surface-scattered wave theory, which allows modeling irradiation with a single pulse on a rough surface, is exploited to interpret the observed structural modification of the surface textures. A simple, empirical scaling approach is proposed associating the surface structures generated in multiple-pulse experiments with the predictions of the surface-scattered wave theory, at laser fluencies around the grooves formation threshold. This, in turn, allows proposing a physical mechanism interpreting the grooves generation as well as the coexistence and relative prominence of grooves and ripples in the irradiated area.

Direct Femtosecond Laser Surface Structuring with Optical Vortex Beams Generated by a q-plate.

Creation of patterns and structures on surfaces at the micro- and nano-scale is a field of growing interest. Direct femtosecond laser surface structuring with a Gaussian-like beam intensity profile has already distinguished itself as a versatile method to fabricate surface structures on metals and semiconductors. Here we present an approach for direct femtosecond laser surface structuring based on optical vortex beams with different spatial distributions of the state of polarization, which are easily generated by means of a q-plate. The different states of an optical vortex beam carrying an orbital angular momentum ℓ = ±1 are used to demonstrate the fabrication of various regular surface patterns on silicon. The spatial features of the regular rippled and grooved surface structures are correlated with the state of polarization of the optical vortex beam. Moreover, scattered surface wave theory approach is used to rationalize the dependence of the surface structures on the local state of the laser beam characteristics (polarization and fluence). The present approach can be further extended to fabricate even more complex and unconventional surface structures by exploiting the possibilities offered by femtosecond optical vector fields.

Thermalization of a UV laser ablation plume in a background gas: From a directed to a diffusionlike flow.

Combined diagnostic measurements of deposition rates and ion time-of-flight signals have been employed to study the expansion of a laser ablation plume into a background gas. With increasing gas pressure the angular distribution of the collected ablated atoms becomes broader, while the total collected yield decreases. The total collected yield shows three separate regimes with increasing pressure, a vacuumlike regime, a transition regime with increasing plume broadening and splitting of the ion signal, and at the highest pressure a diffusionlike regime with a broad angular distribution. In the high-pressure regime the expansion can be described by a simple model based on diffusion from a confined plume.