Femtosecond laser micromachining of grooves in silicon with 800 nm pulses

Femtosecond laser micromachining of grooves in silicon is investigated using 150 fs pulses with a center wavelength of 800 nm. Ablation rates are investigated as a function of pulse energy, translation speed, and the number of consecutive passes. The effect of the laser polarization relative to the translation direction is observed, and the morphologies of the groove walls are examined. In addition, the uniformity of the groove depth is investigated as a function of the number of passes of the sample under the beam.