Thermoplastic deformation of silicon surfaces induced by ultrashort pulsed lasers in submelting conditions

A hybrid theoretical model is presented to describe thermoplastic deformation effects on silicon surfaces induced by single and multiple ultrashort pulsed laser irradiation in submelting conditions. An approximation of the Boltzmann transport equation is adopted to describe the laser irradiation process. The evolution of the induced deformation field is described initially by adopting the differential equations of dynamic thermoelasticity while the onset of plastic yielding is described by the von Mises stress. Details of the resulting picometre sized crater, produced by irradiation with a single pulse, are discussed as a function of the imposed conditions and thresholds for the onset of plasticity are computed. Irradiation with multiple pulses leads to ripple formation of nanometre size that originates from the interference of the incident and a surface scattered wave. It is suggested that ultrafast laser induced surface modification in semiconductors is feasible in submelting conditions, and it may act as a precursor of the incubation effects observed at multiple pulse irradiation of materials surfaces. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3688020]