Narrow Results

We analyze the elementary processes leading to the double ionization of D₂ molecules by a single femtosecond intense laser pulse. From the total kinetic energy release of the two D⁺ ions which exhibits distinct peaks depending on the laser intensity, pulse length and mean wavelength, we show that the double ionization of D₂ by a short femtosecond laser pulse can serve as a molecular clock. We discuss how to read such a clock correctly and how to choose laser parameters so the clock can be read more accurately.

Large-scale replication of the natural process of photosynthesis is a crucial subject of storing solar energy and saving our environment. Here, we report femtosecond laser induced self-assembled metal nanostructure arrays, which are easily mass producible on earth-abundant metals, can directly synthesize liquid and solid hydrocarbon compounds from carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight at a production rate of more than 1 × 10⁵ μL/(gh) that is significantly (10³–10⁶ times) higher than those in previous studies.^1,2 The efficiency for storing solar energy of the photosynthesis is about 10% in the present simple experimental setup which can be further improved. Moreover, different from previous artificial photosynthesis works, this phenomenon presents a new mechanism that, through a surface-enhanced photodissociation process, nature-like photosynthesis can be performed artificially.

This paper is focused on the excitation rates of free electrons of an aluminum (Al) bulk irradiated by an elliptically polarized laser in simulation, using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The polarized 400 nm, 10 fs laser pulse consisted of two elementary sinusoidal beams, and is adjusted by changing the phase difference φ and the intersection angle θ of the polarization directions between the two beams. The simulation includes cases of φ = π/2 with θ = 30°, θ = 45°, θ = 60°, θ = 90°, θ = 120°, θ = 135°, θ = 150°, and cases of θ = 90° with φ = π/4, φ = π/3, φ = π/2, φ = 2π/3, φ = 3π/4. The absorbed energy, the excitation rates and the density distributions of free electrons after laser termination are investigated. At the given power intensity (1×10¹⁴Wcm^-2), pulse width (10 fs) and wavelength (400 nm) of each elementary laser beam, computational results indicate that the excitation rate of free electrons is impacted by three major factors: the long axis direction of the laser projected profile, the amplitude difference of the first main oscillation (1st AD), and the total amplitude difference of main oscillations (TAD) of the external electric field. Among the aforementioned three factors for the excitation rate of free electrons, the direction of long axis plays the most significant role. The screen effect is crucial to compare the importance of the remaining two factors. The analysis approach to investigate the electron dynamics under an elliptically polarized laser is both pioneering and effective.

Stainless steel surface was irradiated by linear polarized laser (800 nm, 35 fs, 4 Hz and 0.7 J/cm²) with different pulse numbers. Environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM/EDS) was used for detailed morphology, microstructure and composition studies. The wettability of irradiated steel surface was tested by Interface Tensiometer JC-2000X and compared with untreated stainless steel. Results showed that micro/nanostripes with different periods were formed. The period increased with the increasing pulse numbers from 450 nm for 90 pulses to 500 nm for 180 pulses. The orientation of those stripes was parallel with the laser beam polarization. Nanoparticles were observed on those periodic structures. EDS indicated that the atomic ratio of Cr increased and the atomic ratios of Fe and Ni decreased after laser irradiation, which may enhance the corrosion resistance due to the Cr-rich layer. The prepared structure exhibited hydrophobic property without further treatment. The formation mechanism of micro/nanoperiodic structures was also explored.

Direct writing technique is usually used in femtosecond laser two-photon micromachining. The size of the scanning step is an important factor affecting the surface quality and machining efficiency of micro devices. According to the mechanism of two-photon polymerization, combining the distribution function of light intensity and the free radical concentration theory, we establish the mathematical model of coverage of solidification unit, then analyze the effect of coverage on the machining quality and efficiency. Using the principle of exposure equivalence, we also obtained the analytic expressions of the relationship among the surface quality characteristic parameters of microdevices and the scanning step, and carried out the numerical simulation and experiment. The results show that the scanning step has little influence on the surface quality of the line when it is much smaller than the size of the solidification unit. However, with increasing scanning step, the smoothness of line surface is reduced rapidly, and the surface quality becomes much worse.

Structurally colored stainless steel (SS) surfaces were produced by using femtosecond laser at normal incidence at ambient conditions. The influence of laser polarization on the surface properties was investigated. The surface morphologies, roughness and color of the laser-treated surface were characterized by using environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM), roughmeter and atomic force microscope (AFM). Results indicated that the circular polarization leads to more random structures than the horizontally linear polarization. Specimen with the highest surface roughness shows the brightest color. Different colors are cyclically exhibited by changing view angles due to different orders of diffraction. This investigation developed the technique of using femtosecond laser in situ preparation of periodic structures on 304 SS, and indicating that laser polarization is an important parameter to control surface structures to achieve different colors.

Generation of short wavelengths is obtained using the gas cells having different lengths. A Ti:sapphire laser system at 1kHz or 10Hz repetition rate is used to produce high harmonic generation (HHG). The gas cell producing optimum harmonic spectrum is determined using the 1kHz laser system. The optimum harmonic signal is obtained under the phase-matched condition. The total harmonic yield is increased by adjusting argon gas pressure in the different gas cell lengths (length of the interaction mediums). Harmonics up to the 27th order are obtained. The 1D model is used for the calculation of harmonic yield at different interaction lengths. The high-power laser system at the 10Hz repetition rate is used to generate high-order harmonics. The harmonic orders are extended to the 35th harmonic in argon gas. A harmonic spectrum in H₂ gas is generated using different pump laser power. The power dependence of the harmonic signal from H₂ gas is obtained. The variation of the harmonic spectrum for the different cell parameters is explained as a constructive or destructive buildup of generated harmonics while they propagate through the gas cell.

Although the digital micromirror device (DMD) has been considered to be a spatial light modulator (SLM) for a long time, it is seldom utilized for holographic tweezers practically because of its energy loss. In this work, a multi-trapping system built with a DMD is demonstrated. But a problem of dispersion is found when the DMD is applied to femtosecond laser, and its mechanism is studied.

Pulsed laser-assisted etching is a simple but effective method for fabricating small regular structures directly onto a surface. We have successfully fabricated submicro- or nano-meter sized spikes on a solid surface immersed in liquids with femtosecond laser pulse irradiations. This method is applicable to different metals such as stainless steel, copper, titanium, cobalt, as well as different semiconductors, such as Si and GaAs. The femtosecond laser method is much faster than other methods. We can control the experimental conditions to design and fabricate nanostructures in different materials and on the surfaces with different morphologies. Here, we discuss the nanostructures formation with femtosecond pulse laser irradiations, and introduce our results of the nanostructure for applications in sensing, biology and artificial photosynthesis. The femtosecond laser irradiation technique can efficiently integrate metal, semiconductor and polymer nanostructures in various small devices to leverage the expertise in other research fields and applications.

When femtosecond laser pulses pass through a trapped polystyrene bead, water breakdown is induced even though the energy of laser pulse is much lower compared to the threshold value of breakdown when the femtosecond laser directly irradiates in water. This mechanism is assigned to the secondary convergence of the laser by the trapped bead.

We present a general formalism of ultrafast diffractive voltammetry approach as a contact-free tool to investigate the ultrafast surface charge dynamics in nanostructured interfaces. As case studies, the photoinduced surface charging processes in oxidized silicon surface and the hot electron dynamics in nanoparticle-decorated interface are examined based on the diffractive voltammetry framework. We identify that the charge redistribution processes appear on the surface, sub-surface, and vacuum levels when driven by intense femtosecond laser pulses. To elucidate the voltammetry contribution from different sources, we perform controlled experiments using shadow imaging techniques and N-particle simulations to aid the investigation of the photovoltage dynamics in the presence of photoemission. We show that voltammetry contribution associated with photoemission has a long decay tail and plays a more significant role in the nanosecond timescale, whereas the ultrafast voltammetry are dominated by local charge transfer, such as surface charging and molecular charge transport at nanostructured interfaces. We also discuss the general applicability of the diffractive voltammetry as an integral part of quantitative ultrafast electron diffraction methodology in researching different types of interfaces having distinctive surface diffraction and boundary conditions.

This paper presents the experimental investigation of the changes in the geometrical shape of femtosecond laser-induced plasma in air under different laser power, and its effects on supercontinuum white light generation and conical emission. When a femtosecond laser is focused into a tiny spot in air, optical breakdown of air molecules occurs and this leads to the generation of plasma filament whose geometrical size and shape depend on laser power. This process is then followed by two light-emitting processes, namely supercontinuum white light generation and conical emission, both of which scatter light that reveals the characteristics of the plasma filament. Our experiment shows that the laser-induced plasma becomes thinner and longer at high average laser power but appears thick and round at lower laser power. At higher laser power, conical emission which scatters laser light in the forward direction dominates the scattering process while at lower laser power, it is the scattering of supercontinuum white light in all directions that plays a bigger role. The intricate rainbow-like pattern formed on a white screen located far away in the forward direction reveals sophisticated nonlinear optical processes that take place in conical emission which slowly diminishes as the laser power is gradually reduced.

A fiber Bragg grating (FBG), inscribed directly by a femtosecond laser and based on the side-polished technique, was proposed and experimentally demonstrated for refractive and temperature sensing. The first-order FBG was inscribed by a 800 nm femtosecond pulsed laser, using the point-by-point method, in a fiber core with a length of 3 mm; the grating period was 537 nm. The fiber grating region was subsequently polished for 5 h and a light leak window was polished through the fiber cladding, with a length and depth of 20 mm and 37.5 $\mu$m, respectively. This changed the evanescent field around the grating area to realize refractive index (RI) sensing. In the experiment, the NaCl solution RI sensitivity of the proposed fiber sensor was 854.2 nm/RIU and the linearities were 0.9989. For the temperature measurement, the sensitivity was 11.66 pm/${}^{\circ }$C and the linearities were 0.9854, between 50–450${}^{\circ }$C.

Crystalline silicon kept at atmospheric pressure was irradiated with 775 nm multiple laser pulses of 150 fs duration at repetition rate 250 Hz. The laser pulses were circularly polarized, with a peak laser fluence of 0.03 J/cm². We observed surface damage at a much lower fluence and lower number of pulses compared to that reported in the literature. Surface damage, cracks and pits formation were observed. The evolution of the surface damage as a function of the number of laser pulses was recorded. The observations were in contrast to the findings in the literature that the silicon surface became structured when irradiated by multiple pulses.

The dynamics and the conditions of amorphous transitions induced in a Ge₁Sb₂Te₄ system upon a single femtosecond (fs) pulse melting were studied by real-time reflectivity measurements. The system has a multilayer structure of 100 nm ZnS–SiO₂/(15–100 nm) Ge₁Sb₂Te₄/120 nm ZnS–SiO₂/0.6 mm polycarbonate substrate. It is shown that under optimum conditions amorphization is completed within 900 ps. The thickness of the phase change layer plays an important role in controlling the heat flow conditions in the system upon a fs pulse irradiation. The use of the fs laser pulse leads to a situation in which the pulse energy is deposited within a very short time in a thin surface layer, leading to heating or melting. The so-generated steep temperature gradient is subsequently smoothed by heat diffusion toward the substrate. The relative thermal process and effects are estimated. The calculated results are consisted with those from real-time reflectivity measurements. The mechanism of crystalline to amorphous transition triggered by single fs laser pulses is discussed.

This study investigated the relationship and parameters interactions between five independent variables in laser percussion drilling of micro-hole. Experiments were conducted on single crystal silicon wafer with material thickness of 725 μm using femtosecond (fs) laser with wavelength of 775 nm and pulse duration of 200 fs. Laser power, focus position, number of pulses, workpiece temperature and assist liquid were selected as independent process variables. Taguchi L18 orthogonal array was applied to design the experiments. The drilling process was evaluated in terms of entrance hole diameter and exit hole diameter. The analysis of the variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the significant parameters that are affecting the entrance hole diameter and exit hole diameter. The result shows that laser power and focus position has highly significant effect on entrance hole diameter. The number of pulses, focus position and assist liquid however has highly significant effect on exit hole diameter.

Making smaller and faster functional devices has led to an increasing demand for a microscopic technique that allows the investigation of carrier and phonon dynamics with both high spatial and temporal resolutions. Traditional optical pump–probe methods can achieve femtosecond temporal resolution but fall short in the spatial resolution due to the diffraction limit. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), on the contrary, has realized atomic-scale spatial resolution relying on the high sensitivity of the tunneling current to the tip-sample distance. However, limited by the electronics bandwidth, STM can only push the temporal resolution to the microseconds scale, restricting its applications to probe various ultrafast dynamic processes. The combination of these two methods takes advantages of optical pump–probe techniques and highly localized tunneling currents of STM, providing one viable solution to track atomic-scale ultrafast dynamics in single molecules and low-dimensional materials. In this review, we will focus on several ultrafast time-resolved STM methods by coupling the tunneling junctions with pulsed electric waves, THz, near-infrared and visible laser. Their applications to probe the carrier dynamics, spin dynamics, and molecular motion will be highlighted. In the end, we will present an outlook on the challenges and new opportunities in this field.

Laser ablation is a rapid-material removal technique with potential application in remanufacturing of bearings to clean damaged surfaces. This study reports the ablation morphology and change in surface composition of 52100 bearing steel irradiated with a femtosecond laser. A smooth ablated surface was achieved by operating the laser at fluence just above the ablation threshold, but higher fluences resulted in roughened surfaces with recast formation. Such coarse morphology is believed to result from higher energy deposition and surface melting. Minimal oxidation occurred at lower fluences. Periodic ripple patterns formed in the ablated area at low fluence; their morphology and possible formation mechanism is discussed.

Femtosecond (fs) laser ablation has been recognized as an effective and promising technique for high-precision processing of natural and synthesized diamond. In this work, a study of femtosecond laser polishing for nanopolycrystalline diamond (NCD) films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is reported. The laser irradiation is induced by 200-fs laser pulses with a repetition frequency of 50MHz, and various laser fluences are employed to investigate their polishing effectiveness. The results show that the optimal laser fluence is 0.7J/cm², at which the nanodiamond grains on top of the cauliflower-like clusters of NCD films can be ablated. With such laser fluence, the mean surface roughness of NCD films reduces from 73.84nm to 31.88nm, which presents a 57% reduction. Nevertheless, when the laser fluence rises beyond 0.7J/cm², large amount of amorphous carbon (a-C) balls and porous lava-like morphology would come into being, resulting in severe degradation of the NCD surface.

Laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS, ripples) are generated on CVD nano-crystalline diamond (NCD) films by femtosecond laser irradiation in air (pulse duration 200 fs and central wavelength 1040 nm). The experimental conditions (laser fluence and spatial spot overlap) are optimized to obtain a 3 × 3 mm² area covered with homogenous LIPSS. Then, the influence of LIPSS on the frictional performance of NCD films is investigated by dry reciprocating ball-on-disc tests, where ZrO₂ ceramic balls are used as counterparts. The results show that the friction behavior is very sensitive to the orientation of nano-structured ripples in LIPSS. The frictional coefficient can be greatly reduced when the sliding direction is parallel to the orientation of the nano-structured ripples, indicating potential benefit of LIPSS on NCD films for frictional applications.