Diffraction and thermal effect of a Bessel-Gaussian laser for Ag nanoparticle deposition.

Nanoparticles are known to sinter at much lower temperatures than the corresponding bulk or micro size particles. A laser-assisted sintering process is considered in this study to sinter Ag nanoparticles by dispensing Ag paste onto an indium tin oxide-coated Si substrate. The Gaussian beam of a CO laser source is propagated through axicon and biconvex lenses, and the resulting hollow beam is focused on the Ag paste with a hollow parabolic mirror.

Invariance of the r-ln(F) relationship and attainable precision in ultrafast laser ablation experiments.

Pursuing ever-smaller feature size in laser-based lithography is a research topic of vital importance to keep this technique competitive with other micro-/nano-fabrication methods. Features smaller than the diffraction-limited spot size can be obtained by "thresholding", which utilizes the deterministic nature of damage threshold with ultrashort laser pulses and is achieved by precisely tuning pulse energies so that only the central portion of the focal spot produces permanent modification. In this paper, we examine the formulation commonly used to describe thresholding and show that the relationship between feature size (r) and laser fluence (F) is invariant with respect to the nature of laser absorption.

Reducing feature size in femtosecond laser ablation of fused silica by exciton-seeded photoionization: publisher's note.

This publisher's note contains corrections to Opt. Lett.45, 1994 (2020).

Reducing feature size in femtosecond laser ablation of fused silica by exciton-seeded photoionization.

We demonstrate a method of laser ablation with reduced feature size by using a pair of ultrashort pulses that are partially overlapped in space. By tuning the delay between the two pulses, features within the overlapping area are obtained on the surface of fused silica. The observed dependence of the feature position on delays longer than the free-carrier lifetime indicates an ionization pathway initiated by self-trapped excitons.

Non-dimensional groups for electrospray modes of highly conductive and viscous nanoparticle suspensions.

Multiple modes of atomization in electrosprays are affected by viscosity, surface tension and electrical conductivity of the semiconductor nanosuspensions. While the effect of gravity is dominant in the dripping mode, the electric field degenerates the electrospray mechanism into a microdripping mode that can potentially allow the deposition of semiconductor nanodots on a substrate. Drop size and frequency of droplet formation are obtained as functions of non-dimensional parameters, which agree well with experimental data.

Time-resolved measurements of optical properties in ultrafast laser interaction with polypropylene.

Time-resolved, single-shot measurements are performed to determine the reflectance, transmittance, and absorptance in ultrafast laser interaction with polypropylene for a wide range of laser pulse energies. An ellipsoidal mirror is used to collect the majority of the reflected light, enabling the detection of plasma emission starting at about 40 ns after the incident pulse. The measured transmittance is explained by a model that takes into account different effective absorption channels, and the non-linear absorption coefficient is estimated, which suggests that the non-linear absorption originates from the two-step or two-photon absorption through overtone.

Laser-induced subwavelength structures by microdroplet superlens.

Nanoscale patterns on rigid or flexible substrates are of considerable interest in modern nanophotonics and optoelectronics devices. Subwavelength structures are produced in this study by using a laser beam and microdroplets that carry nanoparticles to the deposition substrate. These droplets are generated from an aqueous suspension of nanoparticles by electrospray and dispensed through a conical hollow laser beam so that laser-droplet interactions occur immediately above the substrate surface.

Thermal effects of ultrafast laser interaction with polypropylene.

Ultrafast lasers have been used for high-precision processing of a wide range of materials, including dielectrics, semiconductors, metals and polymer composites, enabling numerous applications ranging from micromachining to photonics and life sciences. To make ultrafast laser materials processing compatible with the scale and throughput needed for industrial use, it is a common practice to run the laser at a high repetition rate and hence high average power. However, heat accumulation under such processing conditions will deteriorate the processing quality, especially for polymers, which typically have a low melting temperature.

Gaussian beam diffraction by two-dimensional refractive index modulation for high diffraction efficiency and large deflection angle.

The propagation of Gaussian beams is analyzed for an acousto-optic deflector by varying the refractive index in two-dimensions with a row of phased array piezoelectric transducers. Inhomogeneous domains of phase grating are produced by operating the transducers at different phase shifts, resulting in two-dimensional index modulation of periodic and sinc function profiles. Also different phase shifts provide a mechanism to steer the grating lobe in various directions and, therefore, the incident angle of the laser beam on the grating plane is automatically modified without moving the beam.

Electrospray mode transition of microdroplets with semiconductor nanoparticle suspension.

Electrosprays operate in several modes depending on the flow rate and electric potential. This allows the deposition of droplets containing nanoparticles into discrete nanodot arrays to fabricate various electronic devices. In this study, seven different suspensions with varying properties were investigated.

Two-dimensional refractive index modulation by phased array transducers in acousto-optic deflectors.

Acousto-optic deflectors are photonic devices that are used for scanning high-power laser beams in advanced microprocessing applications such as marking and direct writing. The operation of conventional deflectors mostly relies on one-dimensional sinusoidal variation of the refractive index in an acousto-optic medium. Sometimes static phased array transducers, such as step configuration or planar configuration transducer architecture, are used to tilt the index modulation planes for achieving higher performance and higher resolution than a single transducer AO device.

Two-dimensional analytic modeling of acoustic diffraction for ultrasonic beam steering by phased array transducers.

Phased array ultrasonic transducers enable modulating the focal position of the acoustic waves, and this capability is utilized in many applications, such as medical imaging and non-destructive testing. This type of transducers also provides a mechanism to generate tilted wavefronts in acousto-optic deflectors to deflect laser beams for high precision advanced laser material processing. In this paper, a theoretical model is presented for the diffraction of ultrasonic waves emitted by several phased array transducers into an acousto-optic medium such as TeO crystal.

Dynamic two-dimensional refractive index modulation for high performance acousto-optic deflector.

The performance of an acousto-optic deflector is studied for two-dimensional refractive index that varies as periodic and sinc functions in the transverse and longitudinal directions, respectively, with respect to the direction of light propagation. Phased array piezoelectric transducers can be operated at different phase shifts to produce a two-dimensionally inhomogeneous domain of phase grating in the acousto-optic media. Also this domain can be steered at different angles by selecting the phase shift appropriately.

Noise sources and improved performance of a mid-wave infrared uncooled silicon carbide optical photodetector.

An uncooled photon detector is fabricated for the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) wavelength of 4.21 μm by doping an n-type 4H-SiC substrate with gallium using a laser doping technique. The dopant creates a p-type energy level of 0.

Optical response of laser-doped silicon carbide for an uncooled midwave infrared detector.

An uncooled mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detector is developed by doping an n-type 4H-SiC with Ga using a laser doping technique. 4H-SiC is one of the polytypes of crystalline silicon carbide and a wide bandgap semiconductor. The dopant creates an energy level of 0.

Laser optical gas sensor by photoexcitation effect on refractive index.

Laser optical gas sensors are fabricated by using the crystalline silicon carbide polytype 6H-SiC, which is a wide-bandgap semiconductor, and tested at high temperatures up to 650 degrees C. The sensor operates on the principle of semiconductor optics involving both the semiconductor and optical properties of the material. It is fabricated by doping 6H-SiC with an appropriate dopant such that the dopant energy level matches the quantum of energy of the characteristic radiation emitted by the combustion gas of interest.