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A Systematic Study of the Formation of Nano-Tips on Silicon Thin Films by Excimer Laser Irradiation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

D.G. Georgiev ,
R.J. Baird ,
I. Avrutsky ,
G. Auner ,
G. Newaz  and
N. Tokranova
D.G. Georgiev
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202
R.J. Baird
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202
I. Avrutsky
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202
G. Auner
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202
G. Newaz
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202
N. Tokranova
Affiliation:
Institute for Materials, SUNY at Albany, Albany, NY 12203
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Abstract

Recently, we reported conditions for controllable, direct laser fabrication of sharp conical tips with heights of about one micrometer and apical radii of curvature of several tens of nanometers. An individual cone is formed when a single-crystal silicon film on an insulator substrate is irradiated in air environment with a single pulse from a KrF excimer laser, homogenized and shaped to a circular spot several microns in diameter. In this work, we present a study of the formation of such tips as a function of the laser fluence, the film thickness, and the diameter of the irradiated spot. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the topography of the structures. A simple mechanism of formation based on movement of melted material is proposed. We have also studied structures (nano-ridges) that resulted from irradiation with narrow lines (width of several microns) instead of circular spots.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 872: Symposium J – Micro- and Nanosystems—Materials and Devices , 2005 , J13.6
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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