Finite-difference Time-domain Modeling of Laser-induced Periodic Surface Structures

Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) consist of regular wavy surface structures with amplitudes the (sub)micrometer range and periodicities in the (sub)wavelength range. It is thought that periodically modulated absorbed laser energy is initiating the growth of LIPSSs. The “Sipe theory” (or “Efficacy factor theory”) provides an analytical model of the interaction of laser radiation with a rough surface of the material, predicting modulated absorption just below the surface of the material. To address some limitations of this model, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method was employed to numerically solve the two coupled Maxwell's curl equations, for linear, isotropic, dispersive materials with no magnetic losses. It was found that the numerical model predicts the periodicity and orientation of various types of LIPSSs which might occur on the surface of the material sample. However, it should be noted that the numerical FDTD model predicts the signature or “fingerprints” of several types of LIPSSs, at different depths, based on the inhomogeneously absorbed laser energy at those depths. Whether these types of (combinations of) LIPSSs will actually form on a material will also depend on other physical phenomena, such as the excitation of the material, as well as thermal-mechanical phenomena, such as the state and transport of the materia

Microscopy study of ripples created on steel surface by use of ultra short laser pulses

This paper concentrates on ripples on the surface of steel that arise from lasermaterial interaction. In particular we have observed two different sets of ripples on steel samples that were machined by 210 fs laser pulses with 800 nm wavelength at normal incidence. Small ripples were found with spacing of about 250 nm lying longitudinal to the vector of laser beam polarization. Big ripples exhibited at a much larger distance of about 500 nm and they are perpendicular to the polarization vector. The laser treated surfaces were investigated with\ud Scanning Electron, Confocal and Atomic Force Microscopy. The laser-material interaction could be divided into three subsequent steps: absorption of laser light via electron gas excitations, transfer of heat into the lattice followed by a thermal expansion of material. From our microscopic observations it is concluded that the small ripples are formed by solidification of liquid material present as a thin layer near the interface of solid bulk material

Women's attitudes towards mechanisms of action of family planning methods: survey in primary health centres in Pamplona, Spain

Irala J de, Lopez del Burgo C, Lopez de Fez CM, Arredondo J, Mikolajczyk RT, Stanford JB. Women's attitudes towards mechanisms of action of family planning methods: survey in primary health centres in Pamplona, Spain. BMC Women's Health. 2007;7(1): 10.Background: Informed consent in family planning includes knowledge of mechanism of action. Some methods of family planning occasionally work after fertilization. Knowing about postfertilization effects may be important to some women before choosing a certain family planning method. The objective of this survey is to explore women's attitudes towards postfertilization effects of family planning methods, and beliefs and characteristics possibly associated with those attitudes. Methods: Cross-sectional survey in a sample of 755 potentially fertile women, aged 18–49, from Primary Care Health Centres in Pamplona, Spain. Participants were given a 30-item, self-administered, anonymous questionnaire about family planning methods and medical and surgical abortion. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with women's attitudes towards postfertilization effects. Results: The response rate was 80%. The majority of women were married, held an academic degree and had no children. Forty percent of women would not consider using a method that may work after fertilization but before implantation and 57% would not consider using one that may work after implantation. While 35.3% of the sample would stop using a method if they learned that it sometimes works after fertilization, this percentage increased to 56.3% when referring to a method that sometimes works after implantation. Women who believe that human life begins at fertilization and those who consider it is important to distinguish between natural and induced embryo loss were less likely to consider the use of a method with postfertilization effects. Conclusion: Information about potential postfertilization effects of family planning methods may influence women's acceptance and choice of a particular family planning method. Additional studies in other populations are necessary to evaluate whether these beliefs are important to those populations

Pulse-analysis-pulse investigation of femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures on silicon in air

A new approach to experimentally investigate laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) is introduced. Silicon was iteratively exposed to femtosecond laser pulses at λ = 800 nm and normal incidence in ambient air and at a fluence slightly over the single-pulse modification threshold. After each laser pulse, the topography of the surface was inspected by confocal microscopy. Subsequently, the sample was reproducibly repositioned in the laser setup, to be exposed to the next laser pulse. By this approach, the initiation and spatial evolution (“growth”) of the LIPSSs were analyzed as function of the number of pulses applied. It was found that, after the first laser pulses, the ridges of the LIPSSs elevate, and valleys between the ridges deepen, by a few tens of nanometers relative to the initial surface. An electromagnetic model, discussed in earlier works, predicted that the spatial periodicity of LIPSSs decreases with the number of laser pulses applied. This implies material transport and reorganization of the irradiated material on the surface, due to each laser pulse. However, our experiments show a negligible shift of the lateral positions of the LIPSSs on the surfac

Modeling laser-induced periodic surface structures: Finite-difference time-domain feedback simulations

A model predicting the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) is presented. That is, the finite-difference time domain method is used to study the interaction of electromagnetic fields with rough surfaces. In this approach, the rough surface is modified by “ablation after each laser pulse,” according to the absorbed energy profile, in order to account for inter-pulse feedback mechanisms. LIPSSs with a periodicity significantly smaller than the laser wavelength are found to “grow” either parallel or orthogonal to the laser polarization. The change in orientation and periodicity follow from the model. LIPSSs with a periodicity larger than the wavelength of the laser radiation and complex superimposed LIPSS patterns are also predicted by the mode

Modeling laser-induced periodic surface structures: Finite-difference time-domain feedback simulations

A model predicting the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) is presented. That is, the finite-difference time domain method is used to study the interaction of electromagnetic fields with rough surfaces. In this approach, the rough surface is modified by “ablation after each laser pulse,” according to the absorbed energy profile, in order to account for inter-pulse feedback mechanisms. LIPSSs with a periodicity significantly smaller than the laser wavelength are found to “grow” either parallel or orthogonal to the laser polarization. The change in orientation and periodicity follow from the model. LIPSSs with a periodicity larger than the wavelength of the laser radiation and complex superimposed LIPSS patterns are also predicted by the mode

Laser-induced periodic surface structures: fingerprints of light localization

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to study the inhomogeneous absorption of linearly polarized laser radiation below a rough surface. The results are first analyzed in the frequency domain and compared to the efficacy factor theory of Sipe and coworkers. Both approaches show that the absorbed energy shows a periodic nature, not only in the direction orthogonal to the laser polarization, but also in the direction parallel to it. It is shown that the periodicity is not always close to the laser wavelength for the perpendicular direction. In the parallel direction, the periodicity is about λ/Re(ñ), with ñ being the complex refractive index of the medium. The space-domain FDTD results show a periodicity in the inhomogeneous energy absorption similar to the periodicity of the low- and high-spatial-frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures depending on the material's excitation

Melting of copper surface by ultrashort laser pulses

The main advantage of ultrashort laser pulses in manufacturing technology is their very high removal rate of material and high quality of microstructures with the smallest dimensions at 1 μm level. The accuracy is mainly due to an almost absence of thermal diffusion into bulk material. In this paper we report the investigation on polycrystalline Cu sample surface treated by 6.7 ps laser pulses with 1030 nm laser light wavelength. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs reveal the presence of jet-like structures with spherical drop-like endings, solidified spheres and many bubble bursts at even lower fluence than the threshold value for the ablation is. Within the molten material the jet-like features are due to an explosion of bubbles originated in solid-liquid-vapor transitions. In the case of below-threshold irradiation, the same objects can be seen along surface scratches, dot contaminations etc., which indicate an increase of the laser light absorption on these inhomogeneities. © 2011 WIT Press