Search

The paper presents a study on the fabrication of ZnO nanostructures by applying a pulsed laser deposition technique in air at atmospheric pressure (in open air). The laser ablation of a ZnO target was performed by a nanosecond Nd:YAG laser system operated at the wavelengths of 355, 532 and 1064 nm. In open air, the ablation process leads to a direct deposition of nanoparticles and nanoparticle aggregates formed in the plasma plume. The deposition of the nanostructured material on the substrate resulted in the growth of a highly porous structure. The influence was investigated of the wavelength used for ablation on the morphology, composition and optical properties of the samples. The ultraviolet ablation resulted in deposition of a structure which mainly consists of nanoparticle aggregates and separate nanoparticles. Deposition by visible light formed a highly porous structure consisting of aggregated nanoparticles. Conducting the ablation process with infrared radiation resulted in the growth of a complex 3D structure consisting of large nanoparticle aggregates. The presence of a small amount of nitrogen was detected in all samples independently of the wavelength used for ablation. It was found that the different wavelengths used for ablation lead to fabrication of ZnO structures with different morphology and different types of surface defects, which defines the photoluminescence properties of the samples. The porous structure observed in the ZnO samples, combined with their optical properties, suggests that such nanostructures could be used for efficient fabrication of sensor devices.

In this work, results on laser processing of thin metal films deposited on paper are presented. Au, Ag, Cu, and Ni films are deposited by classical pulsed laser deposition method on different paper types—standard printer, glossy, and silicone paper. The produced films are then processed by nanosecond pulses delivered by Nd:YAG laser system operating at the basic wavelength of 1064 nm. The laser processing parameters are varied and their influence on the film modification is presented. It is shown that at certain conditions, the laser treatment of the films leads to formation of a discrete nanostructure, composed of a monolayer of spherical nanoparticles. The structure and morphology of the fabricated samples are presented and discussed. Results on the use of these structures in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy are also presented. The demonstrated method is an alternative way for fabrication of metal nanostructures with application in low cost sensor device fabrication.

This study presents results on pulsed laser ablation of gold target immersed in different liquids. In the experiments chloroform, toluene and ethanol are used as liquid media for the laser ablation. Two different wavelengths: the fundamental (1064 nm) and second harmonic (532 nm) of a Nd:YAG laser, are utilized to produce various colloids. The optical properties of the colloids were evaluated by optical transmittance measurements in the UV–Vis spectral range. The morphology of the colloidal nanoparticles created and the evaluation of their size distribution are investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The selected area electron diffraction is employed for chemical phase identification of the created nanostructures. Ablation in chloroform resulted in formation of spherical and spheroidal gold nanoparticles with the similar mean size at both laser wavelengths used—11.5 nm at 1064 and 9.3 nm at 532 nm. Nanoparticles with smaller mean size (below 5 nm) in the case of ablation in toluene were observed. Spherical nanoparticles with mean diameter of 7.7 nm produced by 1064 nm and thin elongated nanostructures with thickness of about 5 nm using 532 nm are observed in the case of ablation in ethanol. An additional laser irradiation of the colloids demonstrated the changing of the optical properties and size distribution of the nanostructures produced by ablation in ethanol and chloroform. The irradiation of toluene-based colloid does not induce observable change of the colloid properties.

A study is presented of the properties of Ag nanoparticles produced by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation in twice-distilled water. An Ag target was immersed in the liquid and irradiated by the fundamental, second, third and fourth harmonics of a Nd:YAG laser system to create different colloids. Two specific boundary values of the laser fluence were applied for each wavelength. The properties of the nanoparticles at different wavelengths of the laser radiation were examined. The characterization of the colloids was performed immediately after their fabrication. Spherical and spherical-like shapes of the nanoparticles created were established. The formation of nanowires was observed when the second and the third harmonics of the laser were used. It is connected with self-absorption of the incident laser light from the already-created nanoparticles and depends also on the laser fluence. The size distribution of the nanoparticles is estimated by transmission electron microscopy. Generally, their mean size and standard deviation decreased as the wavelength of the incident laser light was increased and increased with the increase of the laser fluence. The substantial discrepancy between the results already commented on for both characteristics considered and others, obtained by dynamic light scattering, is discussed. The structure of the nanoparticles was established to be single and polycrystalline, and the phase composition in both cases is identified as consisting of cubic silver. The nanoparticles are slightly oxidized.

A molecular dynamics model is applied to study the formation and the early stages of ejection of material in ultra-short laser ablation of metals in vacuum. Simulations of the ablation process for iron at a pulse duration of 0.1 ps and at different laser fluences are performed. Different features of the ejection mechanism are observed below, near, and above the ablation threshold. The last is estimated as approximately 0.1 J/cm2. The structure of the ablated material is found to depend on the applied laser fluence. The expanded plume consists mainly of large clusters at fluences near to the threshold. With the increase of the laser fluence the presence of the large clusters decreases. Clear spatial segregation of species with different sizes is observed in the direction normal to the surface several tens of picoseconds after the laser pulse onset. The angular distribution of the ejected material is estimated for different regimes of material removal. Above the ablation threshold the distribution is forward peaking.

Thin-film Nd-doped potassium gadolinium tungstate (Nd:KGW or KGd(WO4)2) waveguides are deposited on (1102)sapphire or (100)YAG substrates by KrF laser ablation of potassium-rich ceramic targets in Ar and O2. The dependence of the stoichiometry, crystallinity and waveguide properties of the films on the environmental gas pressure and substrate temperature is studied. Highly textured crystalline (110) KGW films are grown. An optical waveguide loss as low as 3 dB/cm is obtained for the films grown in Ar. The as-grown films are optically active. Upon annealing at 900 °C in air, the crystallinity and the properties of the emission spectra are dramatically improved.