Initial Morphology and Feedback Effects on Laser-Induced Periodic Nanostructuring of Thin-Film Metallic Glasses

Surface nanostructuring by femtosecond laser is an efficient way to manipulate surface topography, creating advanced functionalities of irradiated materials. Thin-film metallic glasses obtained by physical vapor deposition exhibit microstructures free from grain boundaries, crystallites and dislocations but also characterized by a nanometric surface roughness. These singular properties make them more resilient to other metals to form laser-induced nanopatterns. Here we investigate the morphological response of Zr65Cu35 alloys under ultrafast irradiation with multipulse feedback. We experimentally demonstrate that the initial columnar microstructure affects the surface topography evolution and conditions the required energy dose to reach desired structures in the nanoscale domain. Double pulses femtosecond laser irradiation is also shown to be an efficient strategy to force materials to form uniform nanostructures even when their thermomechanical properties have a poor predisposition to generate them.

Automated summary

Surface nanostructuring by femtosecond laser is an efficient way to manipulate surface topography and create advanced functionalities. Thin-film metallic glasses obtained by physical vapor deposition exhibit unique properties making them resilient to laser-induced nanopatterns. The morphological response of Zr65Cu35 alloys under ultrafast irradiation and the use of double pulses femtosecond laser are critical for forming uniform nanostructures in materials with poor predisposition.