Abstract
The paper presents the results of processing a silicon surface with subpicosecond laser pulses under various exposure conditions. The variable conditions were: pressure in the working chamber, the speed of scanning the silicon surface with a laser beam and the laser pulse energy. Special attention was paid to the interaction of the laser-induced plasma plume with the surface of the processed material, with laser radiation and with the medium. The influence of the medium on the parameters of the laser-induced plasma is estimated. The result of this interaction is a change in the spatial characteristics of the laser-induced plasma channel, the period and type of the formed periodic surface structures, what is related to the change in the laser radiation passing through the medium at different pressures.