Synthesis of silicon-based nanoparticles by 10.6 mu m nanosecond CO2 laser ablation in liquid

Silicon-based nanoparticles were produced by irradiating a single-crystal silicon target with 10.6 mu m nanosecond transverse excited atmospheric (TEA) pulsed CO2 laser in de-ionized water. The effects of the laser pulse energies and repetition rate were studied. To reveal the role of thermal effects, a low laser repetition rate has been applied, excluding the interaction of the laser beam with the previously generated cavitation bubble. The analysis of the influence of the laser pulse energies and the laser repetition rate showed that the increase of the laser pulse energies leads to an increase of the nanoparticle size. An explanation of such results was proposed and the importance of the role of the target surface temperature in the ablation process is discussed