Morphology of single picosecond pulse subsurface laser-induced modifications of sapphire and subsequent selective etching

The effect of 1030nm single picosecond pulsed laser-induced modification of the bulk of crystalline sapphire using a combined process of laser amorphization and selective wet chemical etching is studied. Pulse durations of more than 1 picosecond are not commonly used for this subsurface process. We examine the effect of 7 picosecond pulses on the morphology of the unetched. as well as etched, single pulse modifications, showing the variation of shape and size when varying the pulse energy and the depth of processing. In addition, a qualitative analysis of the material transformation after irradiation is provided as well as an analysis of cracking phenomena. Finally, a calculated laser intensity profile inside sapphire, using the Point Spread Function (PSF), is compared to the shape of the modifications. This comparison is employed to calculate the intensity threshold leading to amorphization, which equals 2.5.10(14 )+/- 0.4.10(14) W/cm(2). (C) 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement