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When a high-power laser beam is focused into liquid, it results in a shock wave emission and cavitation bubble generation. Upon inserting a rigid substrate into the liquid, the bubbles migrate towards the substrate due to the Bjerknes attractive force. Due to bubble–substrate and/or bubble–free-surface interaction, a high-speed liquid jet is formed during bubble collapse, and a collapse shock wave is generated at the moment of bubble collapse near the substrate. These shock waves and liquid jet induce large forces acting on the substrate to remove particles from it. For a substrate several millimeters away from the laser focus point, the collapse shock wave and liquid jet play key roles in removal of particles. The cleaning efficiency increases with an increase of laser fluence and decreases with an increase of distance between substrate surface and laser beam focus point or depth below liquid surface. In a case of bubbles close to substrate and liquid-surface boundaries, implosion of the bubbles will give rise to shock waves and liquid jets oblique to the substrate surface with the parallel and perpendicular components of the forces onto the particles. These oblique liquid jets and shock waves result in high cleaning efficiency. A liquid, such as alcohol and commercial washing solution, as the surrounding medium, rather than air or vacuum, can reduce adhesion force and enhance cleaning efficiency.

We have investigated the different mechanisms of photoluminescence (PL) of silicon nanocrystals due to the quantum confinement effect (QCE) and interface states. Si nanocrystals were formed by pulsed-laser deposition in inert argon and reactive oxygen gas. The collisions between the ejected species greatly influence the morphology of the Si nanocrystals and cause a transition from a film structure to a porous cauliflowerlike structure, as the ambient gas pressure increases from 1 mTorr to 1 Torr. The oxygen content of the Si nanocrystals increases with increasing O2 ambient pressure, and nearly SiO2 stoichiometry is obtained when the O2 pressure is higher than 100 mTorr. Broad PL spectra are observed from Si nanocrystals. The peak position and intensity of the PL band at 1.8–2.1 eV vary with ambient gas pressure, while intensity changes and blueshifts are observed after oxidation and annealing. The PL band at 2.55 eV shows vibronic structures with periodic spacing of 97±9 meV, while no peak shift is found...

The effects of optical resonance and near field in the interaction of transparent particles on a substrate with laser light have been examined experimentally and theoretically. It is found that pits can be created at the contacting point between the particle and the metallic surface by laser irradiation (KrF,λ=248 nm) with a single pulse. The influence of the particle size and the laser fluence on the structuring of the surface has been investigated. The size of the particle ranges from 1.0 μm to 140 nm in diameter. The morphologies of the holes created have been characterized by an atomic force microscope and a scanning electron microscope. For constant laser fluence, the created hole is sensitive to the particle size. For higher-laser fluence, the corresponding hole becomes larger and deeper. With a low fluence of 300 mJ/cm2 and for 140 nm particles, the lateral dimensions of created pits can be down to 30 nm. With a high fluence of 750 mJ/cm2 and 1.0 μm particles, the diameter and the depth of created holes are about 350 and 100 nm, respectively. Theoretical calculations and an accurate solution of a boundary problem indicate that incident light could excite some resonance modes inside the particle and produce enhanced light intensities on the contacting area (substrate surface). The light intensity on the contacting area is nonuniform and sensitive to the particle size parameter. Experimental results are explained and are very consistent with those of theoretical calculations. The experimental results also provide direct evidence of the optical resonance and near-field effects in the interaction of transparent particles on the substrate with laser light.

In this study, the nanostructure fabrication on metallic surfaces using a pulsed laser in combination with an AFM is reported. Nanopatterns such as pit and multilines were created. Dependence of pit apparent depth on the laser fluence and laser pulse numbers has been investigated. Chemical components of the modified features were analyzed by Auger electron spectroscopy ~AES!. The morphologies of created features were characterized by AFM and scanning electron microscope ~SEM!. Thermal expansion of the tip, the field enhancement underneath the tip and the sample heating were estimated. Experimental results and mechanisms of nanostructure formation are discussed. We hope that our experiments will contribute further to the study of mechanisms of the photoassisted nanoprocessing.

The experimental analysis of dry laser cleaning efficiency is done for certified spherical particle (SiO2, 5.0, 2.5, 1.0, and 0.5 μm) from different substrates (Si, Ge, and NiP). The influence of different options (laser wavelength, incident angle, substrate properties, i.e., type of material, surface roughness, etc.) on the cleaning efficiency is presented in addition to commonly analyzed options (cleaning efficiency versus laser fluence and particle size). Found laser cleaning efficiency demonstrates a great sensitivity to some of these options (e.g., laser wavelength, angle of incidence, etc.). Partially these effects can be explained within the frame of the microelectronics engineering (MIE) theory of scattering. Other effects (e.g., influence of roughness) can be explained along the more complex line, related to examination of the problem “particle on the surface” beyond the MIE theory. The theory of dry laser cleaning, based on one-dimensional thermal expansion of the substrate, demonstrates a great...

Laser-induced removal of spherical silica particles from silicon wafers was investigated. The cleaning efficiency and laser cleaning thresholds for particles with diameters of 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0 μm were carefully measured. It is found that the cleaning efficiency is more sensitive to laser fluence than laser pulse number and repetition frequency. The particle ejecting energies were found to increase with laser fluence. The threshold laser fluences for removing particles with sizes of 0.5 and 1.0 μm are 225 and 100 mJ/cm2, respectively, when KrF excimer laser is used. The threshold laser fluences are only a value below 5.0 mJ/cm2 for particles with a size of 2.5 and 5 μm. A model including both linear expansion and elastic deformation model was proposed to explain the experimental results. With this model, the particle movement and deformation in laser cleaning process were calculated. The expressions for threshold laser fluences were derived. The theoretical predictions are found to be greater than the experimental results. The difference can be explained by the enhancement of light intensity near the contacting area, due to the focusing and scattering by spherical particles. This model is useful to the study of laser cleaning as well as particle adhesion and deformation on solid surfaces.

Laser cleaning is a prospective cleaning method that can be widely used in microelectronics fabrication, archive restoration, and optical apparatus cleaning. Removal of particles from a solid substrate is an important aspect of laser cleaning. Although many studies have been carried out on this subject, few of them are objected to the characterization of the ejected particles in laser cleaning. In this article, a method was developed to “capture” the particles ejected from the substrate after laser irradiation. Detection of both angular distribution and ejection energies was achieved with this method. It was found that the angular distribution of the ejected particles fitted to a Gaussian curve when the laser irradiated normally to the substrate. The distribution curve for the particles ejected from a rough surface has a wider full width at half maximum than that from a smooth substrate. It was also found that the particle ejection energy increased obviously with laser fluence, therefore the laser cleaning efficiency was promoted sharply as laser fluence increased.

Carbon nitride thin films were deposited on silicon wafers by pulsed KrF excimer laser (wavelength 248 nm, duration 23 ns) ablation of graphite in a nitrogen atmosphere. Different excimer laser fluences and pressures of the nitrogen atmosphere were used in order to achieve a nitrogen content as high as possible in the deposited thin films. Fourier transform infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to identify the binding structure and the content of the nitrogen species in the deposited thin films. The N/C ratio 0.42 was obtained at an excimer laser fluence of 0.8 J cm−2 at a repetition rate of 10 Hz under a nitrogen pressure of PN=100 mTorr. A high content of C=N double bond instead of C≡N triple band was indicated in the deposited thin films. Ellipsometry was used to analyze the optical properties of the deposited thin films. The carbon nitride thin films have amorphous-semiconductorlike characteristics with an optical band gap Eopt of 0.42 eV.

Carbon nitride thin films were deposited by 532 nm Nd:YAG laser ablation of graphite assisted by a nitrogen ion beam bombardment on silicon substrates. Different nitrogen ion beam energies (200, 400, and 600 eV) were used while the laser parameters remained fixed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ellipsometry measurements were carried out to analyze the electronic and optical properties. The XPS C 1s spectrum for the C–N binding is at 286.5 eV while the N 1s spectrum has a corresponding peak of C–N binding at 396.9 eV. The optical gap Eopt is on the order of magnitude of 10−1 eV and increases with the N/C ratio in the deposited film. Linear dependence of the refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k on photon energy E in the range of 1.5–3.5 eV are established.

A quantitative investigation of laser‐induced removal of particles from magnetic head slider surfaces has been carried out. The damage thresholds of magnetic head sliders for laser fluence and pulse number were found to be about 150 mJ/cm2 and 5000 pulses at 100 mJ/cm2, respectively. For laser fluence or pulse number above the damage threshold, laser irradiation onto magnetic head slider surfaces can cause microcracks around the pole tips. It is found that laser cleaning efficiency increases with increasing laser fluence and pulse number, but does not depend on repetition rate up to 30 Hz. Laser cleaning efficiency of removing particles from magnetic head slider surfaces can reach about 90% for Al particles and 100% for Sn particles, respectively, under appropriate conditions without causing damage. The mechanisms of laser cleaning of particles from magnetic head slider are laser‐induced surface vibration, particle vibration, particle thermal expansion, and ablation with high laser fluence, which produce forces strong enough to detach particles from slider surfaces. Based on the above cleaning mechanisms, the dependence of laser cleaning efficiency on laser parameters can be explained.

Ultrashallow p+/n junctions formed by B+-ion implantation and annealed by spike rapid thermal annealing (RTA) or laser annealing were studied. The effect of the preamorphizing depth on the redistribution of boron atoms after annealing has also been investigated. Our results show that for ultrashallow junctions formed by ultra-low-energy ion implantation and spike RTA, the depth of the preamorphizing implant has very little impact on the junction depth. By optimizing the laser fluence and preamorphization depth, a highly activated, ultrashallow, and abrupt junction can be obtained using a 248 nm excimer laser. The secondary-ion-mass spectrometry results clearly indicate that a step-like profile with a junction depth of 370 A (for a B+ implant at 1 keV) can be formed with a single-pulse laser irradiation at 0.5 J/cm2.

Nanostructure fabrication using lasers in combination with a scanning tunneling microscope has been reported in the past several years. Different mechanisms have been discussed for the formation of these nanostructures. However, they are controversial. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of nanostructure fabrication on both gold films and hydrogen-passivated Ge surfaces. Current-distance curves for a gold film and for an H-passivated Ge surface under an electrochemically etched tungsten tip were measured to determine the tip-sample distance. An analytical model was proposed to explain different mechanisms for nanostructure fabrication on gold films and on H-passivated Ge surfaces. Thermal expansion of the tip under laser irradiation was calculated. With comparison between the tip-sample distance and the thermal expansion of the tip, we can determine whether the mechanism is based on optical enhancement or on thermal mechanical indentation.

A method of laser scanning ablation for producing large area YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films is presented. Uniformly thick, large area YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films were obtained on 36‐mm‐diam (100) LaAlO3 substrates with a lens rotating radius of 9 mm. The Tc’s of the film center and edge were all 92 K and transition widths were less than 1 K. X‐ray diffraction studies showed complete c‐axis orientation of the films. The critical current density of 3.6×106 A/cm2 in zero field was measured at 77 K. A power law of voltage V versus current I of the YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting microbridge, V=1.363×10−32I11.224 49 was achieved.

We show a method for studying diffusion barriers for phase change memory devices. The method involves placing a barrier layer between a phase change material like Ge2Sb2Te5 and Fe and taking note of the magnetization changes of the Fe layer before and after anneal. This results in a fast, sensitive but qualitative measure of various diffusion barriers. Based on this analysis, Ru was found to be good diffusion barrier comparable to the conventional TiW, while Pt is a poor barrier. These results were then reconfirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth studies.

Phase change materials have become significantly attractive due to its unique characteristics for its extensive applications. In this paper, a kind of phase change material, which consists of Fe and Te components, is developed. The crystallization temperature of the Fe-Te materials is 180 °C for Fe1.19Te and can be adjusted by the Fe/Te ratio. High-speed phase change in the Fe-Te materials has been demonstrated by nanosecond laser irradiation. Comparing to conventional phase change materials, the Fe-Te materials exhibit an anomalous optical property that has higher reflectivity at amorphous than crystalline state, which is useful for data storage design. Published version

Sn-doped Ge–Sb–Te material was prepared by laser synthesis. It has a rocksalt crystal structure for Sn doping content less than 30at.%. A phase change temperature tester was developed to in situ measure crystallization temperature and melting point of Sn-doped Ge–Sb–Te. The crystalliza-tion temperature of Sn-doped Ge–Sb–Te is close to that of Ge2Sb2Te5 while its melting point is much lower than that of Ge2Sb2Te5. The melting points of Sn9.8Ge20.3Sb28.4Te41.5 and Sn18.8Ge19.5Sb25.3Te36.4 are 475 and 450°C, respectively. The crystallization speed was tested by an ultraviolet light at pulse duration of 30ns. It exhibits a high crystallization speed.

A small anomalous Hall effect signal of a Zn1−xCoxO (x=0.05) thin film was observed, indicating that there presents sp-d interactions in the Zn1−xCoxO thin film. However, under a self-held setup, we did not obtain observable differences between the M-H curves when the near band electrons were changed. Integrated with our previous results, possible mechanisms for the magnetism of Zn1−xCoxO thin films were proposed based on a picture of spins in a carrier sea.

Dual beam pulsed laser deposition was used to synthesize Zn1−xCoxO thin films with a large range of Co concentrations. In this paper, the influence of growth temperature on the crystal structures, magnetic properties, and semiconductor properties of these films was studied. It was found that the growth temperature has a significant effect on dopant concentration, as well as the structure and properties of the films. The optimum growth temperature is around 650°C. The thin films were of single crystal especially at low Co concentrations. Epitaxial growth of the thin films was observed. No precipitates were observed at low Co concentrations. Magnetic hysteresis loops were observed at room temperature, indicating that magnetism can be realized with Co doped into ZnO. However, the improvement was limited. The Hall resistivity tended to increase, while carrier density tended to decrease with Co concentration until a certain Co concentration (10%) is achieved. When the growth temperature was greater than 650°C,...

We have investigated phase separation, silicon nanocrystal (Si NC) formation and optical properties of Si oxide (SiOx, 0