TY - JOUR A1 - Rosenfeld, A. A1 - Rohloff, M. A1 - Höhm, S. A1 - Krüger, Jörg A1 - Bonse, Jörn T1 - Formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures on fused silica upon multiple parallel polarized double-femtosecond-laser-pulse irradiation sequences N2 - The formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) upon irradiation of fused silica with multiple irradiation sequences of parallel polarized Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser pulse pairs (160 fs pulse duration, 800 nm central wavelength) was studied experimentally. For that purpose, a Michelson interferometer was used to generate near-equal-energy double-pulse sequences allowing the temporal pulse delay between the parallel-polarized individual fs-laser pulses to be varied between 0 and 40 ps with ~0.2 ps temporal resolution. The surface morphologies of the irradiated surface areas were characterized by means of scanning electron and scanning force microscopy. In the sub-ps delay range a strong decrease of the LIPSS periods and the ablation crater depths with the double-pulse delay was observed indicating the importance of the laser-induced free-electron plasma in the conduction band of the solids for the formation of LIPSS. KW - Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) KW - Femtosecond laser ablation KW - Double-pulse experiments KW - Fused silica KW - Michelson interferometer PY - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2011.09.076 SN - 0169-4332 SN - 1873-5584 VL - 258 IS - 23 SP - 9233 EP - 9236 PB - North-Holland CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-26226 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Puerto, D. A1 - Siegel, J. A1 - Gawelda, W. A1 - Galvan-Sosa, M. A1 - Ehrentraut, L. A1 - Bonse, Jörn A1 - Solis, J. T1 - Dynamics of plasma formation, relaxation, and topography modification induced by femtosecond laser pulses in crystalline and amorphous dielectrics N2 - We have studied plasma formation and relaxation dynamics along with the corresponding topography modifications in fused silica and sapphire induced by single femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm and 120 fs). These materials, representative of high bandgap amorphous and crystalline dielectrics, respectively, require nonlinear mechanisms to absorb the laser light. The study employed a femtosecond time-resolved microscopy technique that allows obtaining reflectivity and transmission images of the material surface at well-defined temporal delays after the arrival of the pump pulse which excites the dielectric material. The transient evolution of the free-electron plasma formed can be followed by combining the time-resolved optical data with a Drude model to estimate transient electron densities and skin depths. The temporal evolution of the optical properties is very similar in both materials within the first few hundred picoseconds, including the formation of a high reflectivity ring at about 7 ps. In contrast, at longer delays (100 ps–20 ns) the behavior of both materials differs significantly, revealing a longer lasting ablation process in sapphire. Moreover, transient images of sapphire show a concentric ring pattern surrounding the ablation crater, which is not observed in fused silica. We attribute this phenomenon to optical diffraction at a transient elevation of the ejected molten material at the crater border. On the other hand, the final topography of the ablation crater is radically different for each material. While in fused silica a relatively smooth crater with two distinct regimes is observed, sapphire shows much steeper crater walls, surrounded by a weak depression along with cracks in the material surface. These differences are explained in terms of the most relevant thermal and mechanical properties of the material. Despite these differences the maximum crater depth is comparable in both material at the highest fluences used (16J/cm2). The evolution of the crater depth as a function of fluence can be described taking into account the individual bandgap of each material. KW - Femtosecond laser ablation KW - Plasma formation KW - Time-resolved microscopy KW - Dielectrics KW - Fused silica KW - Sapphire KW - Scanning force microscopy KW - Reflectivity measurements KW - Transmission measurements KW - Drude model PY - 2010 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.27.001065 SN - 0740-3224 SN - 1520-8540 VL - 27 IS - 5 SP - 1065 EP - 1076 PB - Optical Society of America CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-21167 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -