Analysis of Direct Optical Ablation and Sequent Thermal Ablation for the Ultrashort Pulsed Laser Photo-Thermal Micromachining

An ultra-fast pulsed laser for materials processing can obtain submicrometer- to nanometer-sized parts or patterns (precision or accuracy) because the heat cannot diffuse in time for an ultra-fast pulsed duration, and this causes a threshold of ablation in multi-photoabsorption. The optical and thermal effects significantly affect the processing quality of an ultrashort pulsed laser for materials. This study utilizes a Laplace transform method to display the optical and thermal effects on the temperature field and the ablated depth of an ultrashort pulsed laser processing of materials. The results reveal that If an ultrafast pulsed laser-induced heat can keep the irradiated region above the evaporated temperature until the thermal diffusion occurs in the lattice of materials, thermal ablation occurs. The optical ablation can get a better processing quality due to less thermal diffusion. This study theoretically elucidates that the depth of optical ablation approximates the product of an optical absorption length and the logarithm of the ratio of laser fluence to laser fluence threshold. It has also been shown that the optical and thermal ablation, respectively, occur in low and high laser fluence because the optical ablation depends directly on the main source of the incident ultrashort pulsed laser. However, the thermal ablation is determined by the residual heat directly from the incident ultrashort pulsed laser after the optical ablation. The increase rate of the ablated depth per pulse with laser fluence is actually lower at high laser fluences than that at low laser fluences because the thermal ablation using the residual heat directly from the incident ultrashort pulsed laser is governed at high laser fluences. This study will provide the closed-form of a solution that elucidate the direct optical ablation and sequent thermal ablation for the ultra-fast pulsed laser photo-thermal processing.

The nature of the ultrafast magnetic phase transition in nickel revealed by correlating EUV-MOKE and ARPES spectroscopies

By correlating time- and angle-resolved photoemission (Tr-ARPES) and time-resolved transverse- magneto-optical Kerr effect (Tr-TMOKE) measurements, both at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths, we uncover the nature of the ultrafast photoinduced magnetic phase transition in Ni. This allows us to explain the ultrafast magnetic response of Ni at all laser fluences - from a small reduction of the magnetization at low laser fluences, to complete quenching at high laser fluences. We provide an alternative explanation to the fluence-dependent recovery timescales commonly observed in ultrafast magneto-optical spectroscopies on ferromagnets: it is due to the bulk-averaging effect and different depths of sample exhibit distinct dynamics, depending on whether a magnetic phase transition is induced. We also show evidence of two competing channels with two distinct timescales in the recovery process, that suggest the presence of coexisting phases in the material.

Observations on the Growth of YBa2Cu3O7 Thin Films at Very High Laser Fluences

The pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique utilizes one of the most energetic beams available to form thin films of the superconducting oxide YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO). IN this study we examine the growth of YBCO at very high laser fluences (25 to 40 J/cm2); a more typical fluence for PLD would be nearer to 3 J/cm2. the use of high fluences leads to unique film microstructures which, in some cases, appear to be related to the correspondingly higher moveabilities of the adatoms. Films grown on vicinal substrates, using high laser fluences, exhibited well-defined elongated granular morphologies (with excellent transition temperature, Tc, and critical current density, Jc). Films grown on vicinal substrates using off-axis magnetron sputtering, plasma-enhanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (PE-MOCVD), or PLD at more typical laser fluences showed some similar morphologies, but less well-defined. Under certain growth conditions, using high laser fluences with (001) oriented substrates, the YBCO films can exhibit a mixture of a- and c-axis growth where both crystallographic orientations nucleate on the substrate surface at the same time, and grow in concert. the ratio of a-axis oriented to c-axis oriented grains is strongly affected by the pulse repetition rate of the laser.

Synthesis of Magnetite Particles by Pulsed Alexandrite Laser Processing of Metallic Glass Precursors

ABSTRACTSamples of Fe78B13Si9 and Fe81B13.5Si3.5C2 metallic glasses were irradiated with a pulsed alexandrite laser (λ=750 nm, τ=60 μs) using different laser fluences. Kinetics of laser-induced phase transformations and fluence dependence of magnetic properties were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Low laser fluences were found to induce changes in magnetic texture and onset of crystallization. High laser fluences, however, correlated with additional oxidation effects and the formation of stoichiometric Fe3O4 particles in the irradiated alloy system. An activation energy of 11.9 eV was estimated for the laser-driven synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles. Pulsed alexandrite laser processing is an intriguing alternative technique for the controlled synthesis of iron oxide phases from ferromagnetic glass precursors.

Photoresponse of high Tc superconductor thin films

A fast photoresponse is observed in a current-biased epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 thin-film bridge structure exposed to 100 ps laser pulses. A bolometric response, with a pulse width of the order of 10 ns, dominates at temperatures close to Tc and at high laser fluences. At lower temperatures and fluences, the observed transient response contains distinct fast and slow components. Preliminary results indicate a pulse width for the fast component less than 500 ps. Application of a small magnetic field perpendicular to the sample increases the amplitude of the slow component while leaving the fast component relatively unaffected. Comparison of these results with resistance versus temperature measurements in the same magnetic field suggests that the fast component is nonthermal in origin.