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The use of ultrashort-pulsed (USP) lasers in Additive Manufacturing (AM) enables the processing of different materials and has the potential to reduce the sizes and shapes manufactured with this technology. This work confirms that USP lasers are a viable alternative for Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) when higher precision is required to manufacture certain critical parts. Promising results were obtained using tailored and own-produced stainless steel powder particles, manufacturing consistent square layers with a series of optimized processing parameters. The critical role of processing parameters is confirmed when using this type of lasers, as a slight deviation of any of them results in an absence of melting. For the first time, melting has been achieved at low pulse repetition (500 kHz) and using low average laser power values (0.5-1 W), by generating heat accumulation at reduced scanning speeds. This opens up the possibility of further reducing the minimum size of parts when using USP lasers for AM.

The generation of surface plasmon resonances (SPR) in laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) allows their application in the field of optical sensing, such as the detection of refractive index variations in gases and liquids. We have fabricated gold-coated LIPSS nanostructures on stainless steel substrates by using femtosecond laser nano-ablation. This technique is a low-cost and high-throughput fabrication method applicable to fast and large-scale manufacturing. The depth profile of the fabricated LIPSS shows a central dip at the top of each ripple that split the geometry. The actual topography is modeled and included in a computational electromagnetism package to obtain the expected optical response under the experimental conditions. The measured and simulated spectral reflectances are compared, and the differences are explained by the departure of the fabricated LIPSS from the ideal topography. The experiments and simulations showed excellent agreement for the main spectral characteristics, like the Fano-like lineshapes of the spectral reflectance. This fitting provides the values used to determine the refractometric performance of the fabricated device, that shows a sensitivity of 518 nm/RIU and a figure of merit of 32 RIU−1 for an aqueous analyte. Our experimental results show that the fabricated devices are competitive in terms of cost and simplicity when compared to existing devices with similar performance.

ZnO conductometric gas sensors have been widely studied due to their good sensitivity, cost-efficiency, long stability and simple fabrication. This work is focused on NO2 sensing, which is a toxic and irritating gas. The developed sensor consists of interdigitated electrodes covered by a ZnO sensing layer. ZnO has been grown by means of the aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition technique and then nanostructured by laser interference lithography with a UV laser. The SEM and XRD results show vertically oriented growth of ZnO grains and a 2D periodic nanopatterning of the material with a period of 800 nm. Nanostructuring lowers the base resistance of the developed sensors and modifies the sensor response to NO2. Maximum sensitivity is obtained at 175 °C achieving a change of 600% in sensor resistance for 4 ppm NO2 versus a 400% change for the non-nanostructured material. However, the most relevant results have been obtained at temperatures below 125 °C. While the non-nanostructured material does not respond to NO2 at such low temperatures, nanostructured ZnO allows NO2 sensing even at room temperature. The room temperature sensing capability possibly derives from the increase of both the surface defects and the surface-to-volume ratio. The long stability and the gas sensing under humid conditions have also been tested, showing improvements of sensitivity for the nanostructured sensors.

Silvopastoral systems combine wood perennials with forage and livestock. These multipurpose wood-pasture habitats represent an important part of European bio-cultural and ecological heritage. However, their gradual disappearance due to processes of farm abandonment and intensification as well as forestry abandonment threatens biodiversity conservation and bio-cultural heritages. The behaviours of forest owners and livestock farmers determine the success of silvopastoral systems since a productive coherence between forest management and livestock grazing is required for their optimal functioning. In this study, we investigate the livestock farmers’ and forest owners’ attitudes and opinions towards wood pasture grazing and their relationship with structural factors and farming objectives in two Spanish regions. We used data collected through surveys to identify opportunities, synergies, and barriers in the integration of these actors in joint silvopastoralism. The results reveal a relationship between production objectives and positive attitudes towards silvopastoralism and the environmental functions provided by this activity, in both farmers and forest owners. Cattle farmers express a greater economic interest in wood pastures, as compared to sheep farmers who perceive more difficulties in using them. Acknowledgement of the role of grazing in landscape maintenance is positively correlated with a wide spectrum of objectives of forest owners, from the economic-productivist to the more altruistic profiles. The most synergies are found between cattle farmers and small forest owners for joint silvopastoral management. However, the incorporation of sheep grazing is advisable for the sustainable management of these systems, and hence additional efforts may be required to integrate such farming systems into silvopastoral management. As it currently stands, the EU Common Agricultural Policy appears to be inadequate for maintaining silvopastoral systems. The research leading to these results received funding from the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) (Spain) under Grant Agreement No RTA-2017-00036-C01-02

ZnO conductometric gas sensors have been widely studied due to their good sensitivity, cost-efficiency, long stability and simple fabrication. This work is focused on NO

Aerosol-assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) is a thermally activated CVD technique that uses micro-droplets as deposition precursors. An AACVD system with a custom-designed reaction chamber has been implemented to grow ZnO thin films using zinc chloride as a precursor. The present work aims to study the impact of the deposition parameters on the thin film, as well as the microstructure evolution and growth kinetics. Aerosol flow has an effect on the density of nucleation sites and on the grain size. The temperature affects the morphology of the grown ZnO, showing a preferential orientation along the c-axis for 350 °C, 375 °C and 400 °C substrate temperatures. The microstructural evolution and the growth kinetics are also presented. A different evolution behavior has been observed for 350 °C, where nucleation site density is the highest at the early stages and it decreases over time in contrast with the cases of 375 °C and 400 °C, where there is an initial increase and a subsequent decrease. The activation energy of the chemical reaction is 1.06 eV. The optical characterization of the material has been performed through reflection measurements showing a relationship between the spectrum and the ZnO film thickness. The electrical characterization has been done by means of an interdigital capacitor, with which it is possible to measure the grain and grain boundary resistance of the material. Both resistances are of the order of 105–106 Ω.

Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) manufacturing is a convenient laser direct-writing technique for the fabrication ofnanostructureswith adaptable characteristics on the surface of virtually any material. In this paper, we study the influence of 1D laser wavefront curvature on nanoripples spatial regularity, by irradiating stainless steel with a line-focused ultrafastlaser beamemitting 120fs pulses at a wavelength of 800nm and with 1kHz repetition rate. We find high correlation between the spatial regularity of the fabricated nanostructures and the wavefront characteristics of the laser beam, with higher regularity being found with quasi-plane-wave illumination. Our results provide insight regarding the control of LIPSS regularity, which is essential for industrial applications involving the LIPSS generation technique.

We study the propagation of coherent broadband light through laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) fabricated on diamond surfaces. 3D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations were carried out for a variety of experimentally produced LIPSS morphologies, which include the specific nanometer-scale mesoscopic irregularities arising from the fabrication technique. We compare their performance with sinusoidal grating-like structures, showing that the specific features present in LIPSS nanoripples produce a considerable scattering and diffraction when compared to the ideal nanostructures. With a view on determining the scope of the potential optical and photonic applications of LIPSS, we evaluate the effect of these irregularities on the transmitted spatial beam quality and the spatial phase characteristics of the optical wavefront in a broad spectral range.

We describe a theoretical approach based on Müller and tensor calculus for predicting the polarization state and gain of cascaded Stokes orders produced under coherent Raman scattering regime conditions. The formulation follows a Markovian-style implementation for F2g-type modes in Raman cubic crystals. The theoretical model is supported by experimental results that corroborate that the polarization and power of the cascaded Stokes orders can be effectively predicted using sequential calculus. We extend these results to a variety of crystal propagation directions, with the aim of facilitating the design of advanced solid-state Raman lasers.

21stInternational Symposium on Laser Precision Microfabrication (LPM), 23-26 June 2020, Dresden, Germany. Talk tittle: Nanostructures iduced by Nanosecond laser using Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition for ZnO thin film growth.

We demonstrate a continuously tunable, multi-Stokes Raman laser operating in the visible range (420 - 600 nm). Full spectral coverage was achieved by efficiently cascading the Raman shifted output of a tunable, frequency-doubled Ti:Sapphire laser. Using an optimized hemi-spherical external Raman cavity composed only of a diamond crystal and a single reflecting mirror, producing high power output at high conversion efficiency (>60 % from pump to Stokes) for a broad range of wavelengths across the visible. Enhancement of the cascading was achieved by controlling the polarization state of the pump and Stokes orders. The Stokes outputs exhibited a linewidth of 11 ± 1 GHz for each order, resembling the pump laser linewidth, enabling its use for the intended spectroscopic applications. Furthermore, the Raman laser performance was demonstrated by applying it for the resonance excitation of atomic transitions in calcium.

The control of the interaction between materials and biological tissues is a key factor to optimize the overall performance of implants and prostheses integrated into the body. With this objective in mind, biomimetic hierarchical one- and two-dimensional surface patterns textured at the micro and nano scales were fabricated on titanium alloys using femtosecond laser processing. The experimental results show that laser irradiation promotes surface oxidation together with a polarization-dependent nano-ripple formation. Human mesenchymal stem cells were subsequently cultured on different surface patterns aiming at determining their response to the underlying micro and nano structures. The ripple topography was demonstrated to induce a nonfouling behavior, which could be exploited in the fabrication of biomimetic hierarchical surface patterns to develop cell-trapping modules, The authors are grateful for funding provided by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain), under project reference numbers MAT2014-54826-C2-1-R and MAT2014-54826-C2-2-R and NanoNeuroDev (Grant No. 2017/EEUU/11) from Santander-Universidad

A fast and reliable method for the fabrication of polarization modifying devices using femtosecond laser is reported. A setup based on line focusing is used for the generation of LIPSS on stainless steel, processing at different speeds between 0.8 and 2.4mm/s with constant energy per pulse of 1.4mJ. SEM and AFM characterizations of the LIPSS show a progressive increase in period as the processing speed increases, while height remains approximately constant in the studied range. Optical characterization of the devices shows an induced change in the polarization of the reflected beam that varies with the processing speed, which allows a controlled fabrication of these devices.

We study theoretically and experimentally the spectral and polarization effects occurring when cascading stimulated Raman scattering processes in diamond. We demonstrate an efficient, few-GHz linewidth, broadly tunable, multi-Stokes comb for spectroscopic applications.

We demonstrate a Raman laser continuously tunable in the visible range, capable of performing element-selective photo-ionization. The Stokes outputs exhibited a linewidth of 11.0 ± 1.0 GHz with a conversion efficiency of more than 60%. © 2020 The Authors

We demonstrate a rapid, accurate, and convenient method for tailoring the optical properties of diamond surfaces by employing laser induced periodic surface structuring (LIPSSs). The characteristics of the fabricated photonic surfaces were adjusted by tuning the laser wavelength, number of impinging pulses, angle of incidence and polarization state. Using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) modeling, the optical transmissivity and bandwidth was calculated for each fabricated LIPSSs morphology. The highest transmission of ~99.5% was obtained in the near-IR for LIPSSs structures with aspect ratios of the order of ~0.65. The present technique enabled us to identify the main laser parameters involved in the machining process, and to control it with a high degree of accuracy in terms of structure periodicity, morphology and aspect ratio. We also demonstrate and study the conditions for fabricating spatially coherent nanostructures over large areas maintaining a high degree of nanostructure repeatability and optical performance. While our experimental demonstrations have been mainly focused on diamond anti-reflection coatings and gratings, the technique can be easily extended to other materials and applications, such as integrated photonic devices, high power diamond optics, or the construction of photonic surfaces with tailored characteristics in general.

ZnO thin film sputtered on alumina substrate is processed by Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP). The heat transfer equation has been simulated for interference patterns with a period of 730 nm and two different fluences (85 mJ/cm2 and 165 mJ/cm2). A thermal threshold of 900 K, where crystal modification occurs has been calculated, indicating a lateral and depth processing around 173 nm and 140 nm, respectively. The experimentally reproduced samples have been analyzed from the structural and composition point of view and compared to conventional thermal treatments at three different temperatures (600 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C). Promising properties have been observed for the laser treated samples, such as low influence on the thin film/substrate interface, an improvement of the crystallographic structure, as well as a decrease of the oxygen content from O/Zn = 2.10 to 1.38 for the highest fluence, getting closer to the stoichiometry. The DLIP characteristics could be suitable for the replacement of annealing process in the case of substrates that cannot achieve high temperatures as most of flexible substrates.

Highly migratory cancer cells often lead to metastasis and recurrence and are responsible for the high mortality rates in many cancers despite aggressive treatment. Recently, the migratory behavior of patient-derived glioblastoma multiforme cells on microtracks has shown potential in predicting the likelihood of recurrence, while at the same time, antimetastasis drugs have been developed which require simple yet relevant high-throughput screening systems. However, robust in vitro platforms which can reliably seed single cells and measure their migration while mimicking the physiological tumor microenvironment have not been demonstrated. In this study, we demonstrate a microfluidic device which hydrodynamically seeds single cancer cells onto stamped or femtosecond laser ablated polystyrene microtracks, promoting 1D migratory behavior due to the cells’ tendency to follow topographical cues. Using time-lapse microscopy, we found that single U87 glioblastoma multiforme cells migrated more slowly on laser ablated microtracks compared to stamped microtracks of equal width and spacing (p

Volume-phase gratings (VPGs) were fabricated in CdS

Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP) technique has been used to generate a line pattern on the surface of WO3 thin films, due to the interference of two coherent laser beams, modifying its surface morphology and physical properties. Gas sensing devices based on WO3 thin films annealed at 600 °C and nanostructured by DLIP have been fabricated and compared to samples simply annealed at the same temperature. The sensors processed by DLIP present a great enhancement on the response in NO2 atmospheres indicating possible modifications on the composition, aside from the morphological one.

Waveplates modify polarization by generating a phase change. Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) have recently started to be studied as waveplates due to the birefringence in-duced by the nanoripples, easily fabricated in a one-step process by laser, where LIPSS morphology is defined by the characteristics of the laser process parameters and the substrate material. The optical properties of these waveplates are defined by LIPSS parameters such as period, depth or width of the ripples. In this work we have deposited thin film coatings on stainless steel samples containing LIPSS for different coating thickness and composition. Results show that thin film coatings are a good candidate for the tunability of LIPSS birefringence since the coating modifies the induced polarization change and reflectivity of the sample depending on coating thickness and composition, as expected from numerical simulations.

In this work we have developed hierarchical structures that consist of micro-patterned surfaces covered by nanostructures with a femtosecond laser. The first part of this work is a study to determine the microscale modifications produced on a stainless steel alloy (AISI304) surface at high pulse energy, different velocities, and number of overscans in order to obtain microstructures with a selected depth of around 10 μm and line widths of 20 μm. The second part of the work is focused on finding the optimal irradiation parameters to obtain the nanostructure pattern. Nanostructures have been defined by means of Laser Induced Periodical Surface Structures (LIPSS) around 250 nm high and a period of 580 nm, which constitute the nanostructure pattern. Finally, dual scale gratings of 50 mm 2 were fabricated with different geometries and their effect on the measured contact angle. Combining the micro-pattern with the LIPSS nano-pattern, highly hydrophobic surfaces have been developed with measured static contact angles higher than 150° on a stainless steel alloy.

We demonstrate an effective method for fabricating large area periodic two-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures by means of single-pulse laser interference. Utilizing a pulsed nanosecond laser with a wavelength of 355 nm, precisely ordered square arrays of nanoholes with a periodicity of 300 nm were successfully obtained on UV photoresist and also directly via a resist-free process onto semiconductor wafers. We show improved uniformity using a beam-shaping system consisting of cylindrical lenses with which we can demonstrate highly regular arrays over hundreds of square micrometers. We propose that our novel observation of direct pattern transfer to GaAs is due to local congruent evaporation and subsequent droplet etching of the surface. The results show that single-pulse interference can provide a rapid and highly efficient route for the realization of wide-area periodic nanostructures on semiconductors and potentially on other engineering materials.

A diffractive optical element was fabricated by monolithically integrating two volume phase-gratings (VPGs) in the bulk of a single-piece transparent material. A computer model of the diffraction generated by the double volume phase-grating (DVPG) was made with a rigorous coupled wave analysis simulator. Simulations and experiments show that the diffractive behavior of a DVPG can be controlled by arranging the relative displacement and the distance between the VPGs according to Talbot self-imaging planes. In order to diffract the total incident light, the phase accumulation in the VPGs has to be π/2, which was achieved by single-scan femtosecond laser processing of a nanocrystal doped glass as the substrate material. Ex situ microscope images of the cross-sections are presented for laser processed lines in the form of VPGs and DVPGs. The far-field diffraction of DVPGs formed by selectively located VPGs was characterized with a monochromatic 633 nm and a supercontinuum white light. Functional designs of high diffraction efficiency with potential applications in photonics were successfully fabricated in a one-step and free of chemicals process.

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Direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) is a fast nanostructuring technique able to generate periodic patterns in the submicrometric range, what modifies the morphology and structural properties of semiconductors. DLIP has been used on gas sensors based on ZnO thin film, generating 1D patterns. The nanostructuring has modified the crystal structure and the surface topography. DLIP acts similarly to a thermal treatment from the crystallographic point of view and has been used to detect low concentration of formaldehyde (HCHO). Comparable magnitude of responses (around the 25 % for 20 ppm of formaldehyde) are shown for sensors thermally treated sensors and sensors processed by DLIP.

In this work, submicro and nanostructures self-formed on the surface of Platinum thin films under femtosecond laser-pulse irradiation are investigated. A Ti:Sapphire laser system was used to linearly scan 15 mm lines with 100 fs pulses at a central wavelength of 800 nm with a 1 kHz repetition rate. The resulting structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 2D-Fast Fourier Transform (2D-FFT) analysis. This analysis of images revealed different types of structures depending on the laser irradiation parameters: random nanostructures, low spatial frequency LIPSS (LSFL) with a periodicity from about 450 to 600 nm, and high spatial frequency LIPSS (HSFL) with a periodicity from about 80 to 200 nm. Two different modifications regimes have been established for the formation of nanostructures: (a) a high-fluence regime in which random nanostructures and LSFL are obtained and (b) a low-fluence regime in which HSFL and LSFL are obtained.

We study the fabrication of photonic surface structures in single crystal diamond by means of highly controllable direct femtosecond UV laser induced periodic surface structuring. By appropriately selecting the excitation wavelength, intensity, number of impinging pulses and their polarization state, we demonstrate emerging high quality and fidelity diamond grating structures with surface roughness below 1.4 nm. We characterize their optical properties and study their potential for the fabrication of photonic structure anti-reflection coatings for diamond Raman lasers in the near-IR.

ZnO thin film on alumina has been deposited by RF sputtering and processed by two dimensional direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) using a nanosecond laser (λ=355nm). The thermodynamic and structural properties have been investigated. Morphological characterization has shown a line-pattern structure with small alterations depending on the fluence of the laser (85 mJ/cm 2 or 165 mJ/cm 2 ). In order to understand these modifications, a simulation has been carried out to model the transient temperature during the DLIP to study the temperature reached by the ZnO surface for the different fluences. Moreover, a comparison with a non-interference energy distribution pulse is also simulated to corroborate the model. For samples processed by DLIP, a thermal annealing effect has been noticed when temperatures at the surface are between 1000K and 1800K. Due to the slow cooling process, a possible recrystallization of the material similar to a thermal treatment is obtained. For temperatures close or higher than 1800K, the material starts to ablate.

Volume-phase gratings (VPGs) were fabricated in CdS x Se1−x quantum-dot-doped borosilicate glass at a low repetition rate (800 nm, 140 fs, 1 kHz). The VPGs were designed based on rigorous coupled wave analysis simulations. Results indicate that the inscribed thickness (L) is the key parameter to maximize the diffraction efficiency at order 1. Microscope images of the cross sections and diffraction efficiency measurements were taken in order to characterize the modification of the material at different laser-inscription parameters. A maximum VPG diffraction efficiency of 67% (at order 1) was achieved. Also, a refractive index change of Δn=2.25·10−3 is estimated from these VPG diffraction efficiency measurements. The measurements regarding polarization-insensitive diffraction efficiency showed that the birefringence produced in the substrate is negligible.

In this work, we implement an optical resonant sensor with high throughput capabilities to act as chemical or biosensor. We optimized the diffraction grating structures by FDTD simulations. Based on this study, we produced dielectric diffractive gratings in 1 cm 2 areas by laser interference lithography (LIL) and interrogated them with white light. The reflected single wavelength shifted with changes of the external medium's refractive index (RI), resolving variations of 7.3 × 10 −5 refractive index units (RIU). To exploit the broad active areas fabricated, we developed a custom instrument to acquire spatial maps of the resonance. We called the technique broad area resonance scan (BARS) and used it to characterize the geometric and material uniformity of the surfaces. We suggest this as an in situ practice to characterize photonic crystals and also as a method to scan highly parallelized analysis on a single chip in real time. In addition to a refractometric label-free application, we demonstrated a fluorescent-based measurement with the same readout and found state of the art sensitivities. Thus, the multimethod platform presented is able to double prove an assay with a single experiment in addition to its ability to screen large numbers of interactions using low volume of reagents.

The precise control over the interaction between cells and the surface of materials plays a crucial role in optimizing the integration of implanted biomaterials. In this regard, material surface with controlled topographic features at the micro- and nano-scales has been proved to affect the overall cell behavior and therefore the final osseointegration of implants. Within this context, femtosecond (fs) laser micro/nano machining technology was used in this work to modify the surface structure of stainless steel aiming at controlling cell adhesion and migration. The experimental results show that cells tend to attach and preferentially align to the laser-induced nanopatterns oriented in a specific direction. Accordingly, the laser-based fabrication method here described constitutes a simple, clean, and scalable technique which allows a precise control of the surface nano-patterning process and, subsequently, enables the control of cell adhesion, migration, and polarization. Moreover, since our surface-patterning approach does not involve any chemical treatments and is performed in a single step process, it could in principle be applied to most metallic materials.

Femtosecond laser micromachining has progressed considerably in the last decade due to the increasing interest in glass microsystems. In this work, we present a systematic study of the femtosecond laser ablation rate of soda-lime glass as a function of the deposited energy and pulse overlapping parameters. Experimental results demonstrate that the incubation effect reported by other authors can be neglected for particular process conditions and a constant ablation rate can be obtained, thus enhancing the depth control of the fabricated features.

This work presents the fabrication of hollow-core metallic structures with a complete laser interference lithography (LIL) process. A negative photoresist is used as sacrificial layer. It is exposed to the pattern resulting from the interference of two laser beams, which produces a structure of photoresist lines with a period of 600 nm. After development of the resist, platinum is deposited on the samples by DC sputtering and the resist is removed with acetone. The resulting metallic structures consist in a continuous platinum film that replicates the photoresist relief with a hollow core. The cross section of the channels is up to 0.1 μm 2 . The fabricated samples are characterized by FESEM and FIB. This last tool helps to provide a clear picture of the shape and size of the channels. Conveniently dimensioned, this array of metallic submicrometric channels can be used in microfluidic or IC cooling applications.

The production of periodic structures in silicon wafers by four-beam is presented. Because laser interference ablation is a single-step and cost-effective process, there is a great technological interest in the fabrication of these structures for their use as antireflection surfaces. Three different laser fluences are used to modify the silicon surface (0.8 J cm−2, 1.3 J cm−2, 2.0 J cm−2) creating bumps in the rim of the irradiated area. Laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), in particular micro and nano-ripples, are also observed. Measurements of the reflectivity show a decrease in the reflectance for the samples processed with a laser fluence of 2.0 J cm−2, probably caused by the appearance of the nano-ripples in the structured area, while bumps start to deteriorate.

We have fabricated polystyrene opals by vertical deposition with colloidal spheres of 419 nm in diameter. Different parameters such as the concentration, temperature and relative humidity have been systematically varied in order to study the dependence of the crystalline quality of the opals on these parameters. The opals have been optically and structurally characterized, paying particular attention to the size and distribution of the domains for each fabrication condition. We have noticed a dependence of the size of the domains on the thickness which corroborates a previous study. From these results we can conclude that the characterization of the homogeneity of the thickness of the opals can be done just by using microscopy. We also report a dependence of the order of the opals on relative humidity and a selective adhesion of the opals to the substrate depending on concentration and surface chemistry. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Four-beam laser interference is shown to stimulate the self-organisation of periodic two-dimensional arrays of nanoislands on the surface of GaAs/InGaAs/GaAs epitaxial structures. (Self-organisation is here taken to mean processes that determine the island size.) The island size distribution has two well-defined maxima. The smaller islands (~5 nm) form inside each heat-affected zone, and the larger islands (~15 nm), at the periphery of such zones. The island width is a factor of 20 — 60 smaller than the standing wave period, which can be accounted for in terms of the elastic stress on the surface of the epitaxial film.

Periodic structures are of increasing interest in many fields such as nanotechnology and biotechnology among others. Laser Interference Lithography (LIL) has been widely studied for the fabrication of periodic structures. However, a LIL tool for the nanoscale structuring of materials that can scale beyond laboratory prototypes into cost effective industrial processes is not yet defined. In this work, we describe a versatile and automatic high-power multiple beam interference lithography system design capable of overcoming the limitations of manual setups. Using this system, we have successfully processed photoresist samples on the whole surface of 3in. silicon wafers, demonstrating the applicability of this prototype to a wide range of device fabrication.

High throughput and low cost fabrication techniques in the sub-micrometer scale are attractive for the industry. Laser interference lithography (LIL) is a promising technique that can produce one, two and three-dimensional periodical patterns over large areas. In this work, two- and four-beam laser interference lithography systems are implemented to produce respectively one- and two-dimensional periodical patterns. A high-power single pulse of ∼8 ns is used as exposure process. The optimum exposure dose for a good feature patterning in a 600 nm layer of AZ-1505 photoresist deposited on silicon wafers is studied. The best aspect ratio is found for a laser fluence of 20 mJ/cm2. A method to control the width of the sub-micrometer structures based on controlling the resist thickness and the laser fluence is proposed.