Chemical, morphological and accumulation phenomena in ultrashort-pulse laser ablation of TiN in air

Ultrashort-pulse laser ablation (tau = 130 fs, lambda = 800 nm, repetition rate 2-20 Hz) of titanium nitride was investigated for laser influences between 0.3 and 4.5 J/cm(2) using the direct focusing technique in ail, The influence of the laser pulse number and the peak fluence was investigated by means of several surface analytical techniques (optical microscopy, dynamic friction atomic force microscopy, scanning Auger electron microscopy and small-spot electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis). The correlation of the results about optical, physical and chemical properties of the irradiated areas allows us to propose a simple oxidation model, which explains different observed phenomena associated with surface damage such as mound formation and crater widening and clarifies the incubation behavior reported earlier for this material.