Surface Modifications of Metals Induced by Soft X-Ray Laser Pulse Irradiations.

We irradiated the soft x-ray laser (SXRL) pulses having a wavelength of 13.9 nm, the duration time of 7 ps to aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) and gold (Au) surfaces. After the irradiation processes of SXRL beam with laser flux of ∼14 mJ/cm² for Al case and of ∼21 mJ/cm² for Cu and Au cases, the modified surfaces were observed with the visible microscope, the scanning electron microscope, and the atomic force microscope. The surface modifications caused by the SXRL irradiations were clearly seen on the surfaces, and it was found that the conical structures having around 100 nm in diameters were formed on the Al surface under a single pulse shot. The conical structures were formed in the features with the average depth of about 40 nm, and this value was in accordance with the attenuation length of the SXRL beam for Al. The modified structure on Al surface induced by SXRL pulse irradiations is different from those of Cu and Au surfaces. The modified structure formed on Al surface induced by the SXRL pulse exposure is interesting as the newly structure. Hence, the SXRL beam would be a candidate for a tool of micromachining, which enable to fabricate of three dimensional structures with nano-meter size on Al surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]