Surface modifications of crystalline silicon created by high intensity 1064 nm picosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses

A study of silicon modification induced by a high intensity picosecond Nd:YAG laser, emitting at 1064 nm, is presented. It is shown that laser intensities in the range of 5 1010–0.7 1012 W cm 2 drastically modified the silicon surface. The main modifications and effects can be considered as the appearance of a crater, hydrodynamic/deposition features, plasma, etc. The highest intensity of 0.7 1012 W cm 2 leads to the burning through a 500 mm thick sample. At these intensities, the surface morphology exhibits the transpiring of the explosive boiling/phase explosion (EB) in the interaction area. The picosecond Nd:YAG laser-silicon interaction was typically accompanied by massive ejection of target material in the surrounding environment. The threshold for the explosive boiling/phase explosion (TEB) was estimated to be in the interval 1.0 1010 W cm 2 < TEB 3.8 1010 W cm 2.