Graphitisation of Waste Carbon Powder with Femtosecond Laser Annealing

Graphitisation of structural characteristics and improvement in electrical conductivity was reported onto waste carbon powder through femtosecond laser annealing. Raman spectroscopy on the carbon powder pre- and post-annealing showed a shift from amorphous-like carbon to graphitic-like carbon, which can be explained by the three-stage model. Electrical I-V probing of the samples revealed an increase in conductivity by up to 90%. An increase in incident laser power was found to be correlated to an increase in conductivity. An average incident laser power of 0.104 W or less showed little to no change in electrical characteristics, while an average incident laser power of greater than 1.626 W had a destructive effect on the carbon powder, shown through the reduction in powder. The most significant improvement in electrical conductivity has been observed at laser powers ranging from 0.526 to 1.286 W. To conclude, the graphitisation of waste carbon powder is possible using post-process femtosecond laser annealing to alter its electrical conductivity for future applications.

Sensitive Metal-Semiconductor Nanothermocouple Fabricated by FIB to Investigate Laser Beams with Nanometer Spatial Resolution

The focused ion beam (FIB) technique was used to fabricate a nanothermocouple (with a 90 nm wide nanojunction) based on a metal–semiconductor (Pt–Si) structure, which showed a sensitivity up to 10 times larger (with Seebeck coefficient up to 140 µV/K) than typical metal–metal nanothermocouples. In contrast to the fabrication of nanothermocouples which requires a high-tech semiconductor manufacturing line with sophisticated fabrication techniques, environment, and advanced equipment, FIB systems are available in many research laboratories without the need for a high-tech environment, and the described processing is performed relatively quickly by a single operator. The linear response of the manufactured nanothermocouple enabled sensitive measurements even with small changes of temperature when heated with a stream of hot air. A nonlinear response of the nanothermocouple (up to 83.85 mV) was observed during the exposition to an argon-laser beam with a high optical power density (up to 17.4 Wcm−2), which was also used for the laser annealing of metal–semiconductor interfaces. The analysis of the results implies the application of such nanothermocouples, especially for the characterization of laser beams with nanometer spatial resolution. Improvements of the FIB processing should lead to an even higher Seebeck coefficient of the nanothermocouples; e.g., in case of the availability of other suitable metal sources (e.g., Cr).

Electrical and Optical Doping of Silicon by Pulsed-Laser Melting

Over four decades ago, pulsed-laser melting, or pulsed-laser annealing as it was termed at that time, was the subject of intense study as a potential advance in silicon device processing. In particular, it was found that nanosecond laser melting of the near-surface of silicon and subsequent liquid phase epitaxy could not only very effectively remove lattice disorder following ion implantation, but could achieve dopant electrical activities exceeding equilibrium solubility limits. However, when it was realised that solid phase annealing at longer time scales could achieve similar results, interest in pulsed-laser melting waned for over two decades as a processing method for silicon devices. With the emergence of flat panel displays in the 1990s, pulsed-laser melting was found to offer an attractive solution for large area crystallisation of amorphous silicon and dopant activation. This method gave improved thin film transistors used in the panel backplane to define the pixelation of displays. For this application, ultra-rapid pulsed laser melting remains the crystallisation method of choice since the heating is confined to the silicon thin film and the underlying glass or plastic substrates are protected from thermal degradation. This article will be organised chronologically, but treatment naturally divides into the two main topics: (1) an electrical doping research focus up until around 2000, and (2) optical doping as the research focus after that time. In the first part of this article, the early pulsed-laser annealing studies for electrical doping of silicon are reviewed, followed by the more recent use of pulsed-lasers for flat panel display fabrication. In terms of the second topic of this review, optical doping of silicon for efficient infrared light detection, this process requires deep level impurities to be introduced into the silicon lattice at high concentrations to form an intermediate band within the silicon bandgap. The chalcogen elements and then transition metals were investigated from the early 2000s since they can provide the required deep levels in silicon. However, their low solid solubilities necessitated ultra-rapid pulsed-laser melting to achieve supersaturation in silicon many orders of magnitude beyond the equilibrium solid solubility. Although infrared light absorption has been demonstrated using this approach, significant challenges were encountered in attempting to achieve efficient optical doping in such cases, or hyperdoping as it has been termed. Issues that limit this approach include: lateral and surface impurity segregation during solidification from the melt, leading to defective filaments throughout the doped layer; and poor efficiency of collection of photo-induced carriers necessary for the fabrication of photodetectors. The history and current status of optical hyperdoping of silicon with deep level impurities is reviewed in the second part of this article.

Non-melt selective enhancement of crystalline structure in molybdenum thin films using femtosecond laser pulses

It is challenging to crystalize a thin film of higher melting temperature when deposited on a substrate with comparatively lower melting point. Trading such disparities in thermal properties between a thin film and its substrate can significantly impede material processing. We report a novel solid-state crystallization process for annealing of high melting point molybdenum thin films. A systematic investigation of laser induced annealing from single pulse to high pulse overlapping is reported upon scanning at fluences lower than the threshold required for the damage/ablation of molybdenum thin films. The approach allows better control of the grain size by changing the applied laser fluence. Atomic force microscopy surface morphology and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveal significant improvements in the average polycrystalline grain size after laser annealing; the sheet resistance was reduced by 19% of the initial value measured by a Four-point probe system. XRD confirms the enlargement of the single crystal grain size. No melting was evident, although a change in the close packing, shape and size of nanoscale polycrystalline grains is observed. Ultrashort laser induced crystallinity greatly enhances the electrical properties; Hall measurements reinforced that the overall carrier concentration increases after scanning at different laser fluences. The proposed method, based on the aggregation and subsequent growth of polycrystalline and single crystal-grains, leading to enhanced crystallization, has potential to be applicable in thin film processing industry for their wide applications.

In Situ Monitoring of Pulsed Laser Annealing of Eu-Doped Oxide Thin Films

Eu3+-doped oxide thin films possess a great potential for several emerging applications in optics, optoelectronics, and sensors. The applications demand maximizing Eu3+ photoluminescence response. Eu-doped ZnO, TiO2, and Lu2O3 thin films were deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). Pulsed UV Laser Annealing (PLA) was utilized to modify the properties of the films. In situ monitoring of the evolution of optical properties (photoluminescence and transmittance) at PLA was realized to optimize efficiently PLA conditions. The changes in optical properties were related to structural, microstructural, and surface properties characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The substantial increase of Eu3+ emission was observed for all annealed materials. PLA induces crystallization of TiO2 and Lu2O3 amorphous matrix, while in the case of already nanocrystalline ZnO, rather surface smoothening0related grains’ coalescence was observed.