A technique for ordered fabrication of periodic freestanding micro/nanostructures on the crystalline germanium (Ge) <100> surfaces with 1064 nm wavelength ultrashort laser pulses under ambient conditions is presented. The laser radiation fluence used for obtaining the structures is close to the melting threshold (0.1 J/cm2) of Ge. The dimensions of structures range from hundreds of nanometres to a few microns. The orientation of the periodic surface structures depends on laser beam polarization direction. Arrays of structures are formed in rows parallel to the sample movement direction for samples machined with s-polarized laser pulses, but formed in the direction perpendicular to the movement for p-polarized pulses. The structures are fabricated under variable temperatures on sample surface owing to the changed interference between incident and reflected laser beams. A micro-Raman analysis of the processed surfaces shows a minor change in the spectral intensity as compared to the unprocessed surface and the material retains its crystallinity after laser irradiation.
Analysis of periodic nanostructures formation on a gold surface under exposure to ultrashort laser pulses near the melting threshold
