Laser damage studies of silicon surfaces using ultra-short laser pulses

Laser-induced damage morphology using femtosecond laser pulses on Si surfaces is reported. Damage morphology shows the ablation of material. A magnified view of the ablated portion shows a periodic surface structure in the form of ripples. The spacing of these ripples was between 0.5 and 2 μm and increased, on increasing the power density or number of pulses, and finally broke into parts, leaving well-ordered grains of approximate diameter 5 μm. Also for 100 or larger number of pulses, an amorphous ring in the periphery was formed. The diameter of this ring increased, on increasing either the laser fluence or the number of pulses. The formation of ripples has been explained with the help of the hypothesis of Boson condensation proposed by Van Vechten (Solid State Commun 39 (1981) 1285)