Femtosecond laser surface structuring of silicon using optical vortex beams generated by a q-plate

We report on laser surface structuring of silicon using Ti:Sa femtosecond laser ablation with optical vortex beams. A q-plate is used to generate an optical vortex beam with femtosecond pulse duration through spin-to-orbital conversion of the angular momentum of light. The variation of the produced surface structures is investigated as a function of the number of pulses, N, at laser fluence slightly above the ablation threshold value. At low N (approximate to 10), only surface corrugation of the irradiated, ring-shaped area is observed. This is followed by a progressive formation of regular ripples at larger N (approximate to 100-500), which eventually transform in smaller columnar structures for N approximate to 1000. Moreover, the central, non-ablated part is gradually decorated by nanoparticles produced during laser ablation, a process which eventually leads to the formation of a central turret of assembled nanoparticles. Our experimental findings suggest the importance of a feedback mechanism and a cumulative effect on the formation of ripples with interesting patterns not achievable by the more standard beams with a Gaussian intensity profile. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.