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Effect of crystallographic orientation on structural response of silicon to femtosecond laser irradiation

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Abstract

Femtosecond laser has been widely utilized for modification of crystal structure to achieve desired functions. So far, however, the effect of crystallographic orientation on the induced structure by femtosecond laser processing has yet been comprehensively studied. The present work is undertaken in an attempt to fill this gap in our knowledge. To this end, commercial-purity Si is used as a target material and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy as well as electron backscatter diffraction are applied to examine the irradiation-induced microstructural changes. The structural response of the pulsed material is found to be principally influenced by the crystallographic orientation of the target surface. Specifically, at the surface orientation close to {111}, a pronounced amorphization effect is observed whereas no disordered material is detected at the orientations close to {100}. This phenomenon could be explained by the lowest crystallization speed required by the (111) surface due to its smallest surface energy. Compared with nanosecond laser, non-thermal melting induced by femtosecond laser induces mild thermal gradient and favors recrystallization.

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Fig. 1

taken from polycrystalline Si irradiated at laser peak-fluence of 0.99 J/cm2

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

taken from single-crystalline Si with the (111) surface

Fig. 4
Fig. 5

taken from polycrystalline Si irradiated at laser peak-fluence of 0.99 J/cm2

Fig. 6

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Notes

  1. Some inconsistency in spacing between the laser-irradiated spots seen in Fig. 1 is likely due to the perspective effect associated with the sample tilting in the SEM.

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Acknowledgements

This experimental work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFB1104803). This theoretical work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2019A1515010745). The authors acknowledge assistance of Qing He in laser irradiation experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. High-Power and Ultrafast Laser Manufacturing Lab, Faculty of Materials and Manufacturing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, People’s Republic of China

    Xin Zhang, Sergey Mironov, Rongshi Xiao & Ting Huang

  2. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, People’s Republic of China

    Liang Zhang & Liang Guo

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  1. Xin Zhang
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Correspondence to Liang Guo or Ting Huang.

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Zhang, X., Zhang, L., Mironov, S. et al. Effect of crystallographic orientation on structural response of silicon to femtosecond laser irradiation. Appl. Phys. A 127, 196 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-021-04341-y

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