Excimer laser induced nanostructuring of silicon surfaces.

The effect of KrF excimer laser energy density (below and above the ablation threshold), number of shots and angle of laser incidence on the morphological reconstruction, structure and specular reflectance of Si[311] surfaces is reported. At low energy densities (0.1 to 0.3 J/cm2) laser irradiation results in a variety of nanostructures, depending on laser energy density and number of shots, such as nanopores (40-60 nm dia) and nanoparticles (40-80 nm dia). At energies greater than the laser ablation threshold (2 to 5 J/cm2) the formation of nanowires (200 nm dia, 6-8 microm length), and closely spaced silicon nanograins (100-150 nm dia) is observed. Experiments to study the effect of laser irradiation in the proximity of a fixed shape such as a linear step edge in the form of a stainless steel blade and a cylindrical cross-section Cu wire were also carried out. In both cases, linearly organized nanoparticles (150-200 nm diameter) and nanowires (60-80 nm diameter) formed close to the edge. There is a systematic degradation of long-range order with the number of shots and laser energy density as evidenced from X-ray diffraction studies. At an energy density of 2 J/cm2, and 100 shots the [311] oriented silicon surface made a transition to a randomly oriented nanocrystalline state.