Ultrafast laser ablation of 10-nm self-supporting membranes by two-beam interference processing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Laser Physics

Background:

• Developing advanced micro- and nanoengineering techniques is crucial for next-generation devices.
• Existing methods like focused ion beam (FIB) milling have limitations in speed and design flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel ultrafast laser ablation method for processing thin membranes.
• To demonstrate the fabrication of periodic sub-microstructures with controlled geometry.
• To highlight the advantages of this laser-based approach over conventional techniques.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing single-shot irradiation with two visible laser pulses on 10-nm self-supporting membranes.
• Controlling the fabricated geometry by manipulating the intensity distribution of superposed laser pulses.
• Processing areas spanning tens of square micrometers.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of periodic sub-microstructures on the membranes.
• Demonstrated flexibility in designing fabricated geometry based on laser pulse characteristics.
• Achieved high processing speed and ease of parameter design.

Conclusions:

• Ultrafast laser ablation offers a fast and flexible alternative for micro- and nanoengineering of thin membranes.
• The method's adaptability to different geometries makes it suitable for practical applications.
• This technique presents significant advantages in processing speed and design simplicity compared to FIB milling.