Issue 9, 2020

The influence of the fluid nature on femtosecond laser ablation properties of a SiO2/Si target and synthesis of ultrafine-grained Si nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanocrystalline silicon nanoparticles with a median crystallite size of 3–4 nm and several crystalline phases and defects (e.g. twin boundary) were produced by femtosecond laser processing of a SiO2/Si target in various organic fluids. Furthermore, a nanoscaled amorphous oxide layer and a few atomic layers of a graphite shell were detected in ethanol and 2-butanol correspondingly. The ultrafast laser pulses may manipulate nanostructures at the atomic level and generate a high density of defects; this may be correlated with significant thermal stresses on nanoparticles and rapid condensation of primary nanoparticles with high cooling rates. Size distribution width and a polydispersity index slightly increased with increasing laser fluence in ethanol. In 2-butanol, the maximum ablation volume was observed. The specific ablation rates in 2-butanol and ethanol were approximately five times higher than n-hexane. The lowest ablation efficiency in n-hexane can be associated with femtosecond laser-induced photolysis and pyrolysis of solvent molecules, as total energy deposition on the material may be reduced due to the formation of carbonaceous products. The roughened zones (average roughness of ∼400 nm) in circumferences of the ablated craters in 2-butanol may be related to a correlation between the erosive power of the vapour bubble collapse and higher pressure at the bubble wall in relatively high dynamic viscosity fluids. Furthermore, sputtering of a pristine surface by releasing nanoparticles from the collective collapse of up-flow vapour bubbles can also contribute to the generation of roughened regions.

Graphical abstract: The influence of the fluid nature on femtosecond laser ablation properties of a SiO2/Si target and synthesis of ultrafine-grained Si nanoparticles

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 apr 2020
Accepted
22 jun 2020
First published
23 jun 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2020,2, 3991-4002

The influence of the fluid nature on femtosecond laser ablation properties of a SiO2/Si target and synthesis of ultrafine-grained Si nanoparticles

N. Lasemi, C. Rentenberger, G. Liedl and D. Eder, Nanoscale Adv., 2020, 2, 3991 DOI: 10.1039/D0NA00317D

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