Formation of slantwise orientated nanoscale ripple structures on a single-crystal 4H-SiC surface by time-delayed double femtosecond laser pulses

Abstract

An effective control of the nanoscale periodic ripple structures on a single-crystal 4H-SiC surface is carried out by temporally delayed double collinear femtosecond laser pulse trains with different linear polarizations. The observed evolution of the ripple slant angle shows a dramatic decrease within an initial time delay range of ~10 ps between the two laser pulses, but keeps almost steady for larger time elapse. Through the detailed analyses, we propose a theoretical model to reveal the underlying physics: regarding the double femtosecond laser pulses, the first laser pulse transfers the semiconductor into nonequilibrium states associated with a transient refractive index grating on the surface, which subsequently tends to change the direction of the surface plasmon excitation of the second laser pulse. These behaviors can eventually result in the slantwise oriented laser intensity fringes and corresponding periodic ablation of grooves. Such investigations provide additional insights into the ripple formation processes, which is very important for control of nanomanufacturing materials by femtosecond lasers.