Femtosecond laser induced nanostructure formation: self-organization control parameters

In self-organized nanostructure formation upon femtosecond laser ablation, the laser polarization is an important control parameter. Experiments on fluoride crystals, using circular and elliptical polarization, study this influence in more detail. For circular polarization, spherical nanoparticles of about 100 nm diameter are formed. With increasing ellipticity, longer and longer ordered chains and linear structures are generated, oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the polarization ellipse. A similar effect occurs when, for circular polarization, the angle of incidence is varied from normal to 45 degrees: the s-component of the incident field, not attenuated by the projection, determines length and orientation of the ordered ripples. However, surface defects like scratches exert an even stronger influence on the ripples orientation than the polarization, resulting in curved structures bending from polarization-controlled to defect-controlled orientation. Since the structure formation takes place only long after the end of the laser pulse, a certain electrical field memorizer is required to account for this polarization dependence. A promising approach assumes directional atomic surface diffusion anisotropies, arising, e.g. from plasmon-coupled metal-colloid arrays.