Nanopillars created by a single shot of ultra-short laser pulses
A single shot from an ultrashort-pulse laser can produce a nano-sized pillar on the surface of a material. This new nano-fabrication method has potential applications in many fields: mechanics, biology, photonics and phonics. The results of the study are published in Laser & Photonics Reviews.
© V.V. Belloni, Femto-ST
Femtosecond lasers, which deliver ultra-short pulses (10-15 s), have enabled significant advances in surface nanotexturing and material ablation. Research carried out at the Institut Franche-Comté Electronique Mécanique Thermique et Optique – Sciences et Technologies (Femto-ST, CNRS/SUPMICROTECH – ENSMM/Université de Franche-Comté/Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbéliard) is now opening up a new avenue for materials processing using femtosecond lasers. The team has developed an experimental method for generating the emergence of nano-pillars on the surface of sapphire, using a single laser shot. This research was carried out as part of the ANR DENSE project, in collaboration with the Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon – Terre, Planètes, Environnement (LGL-TPE, CNRS/ENS Lyon/Université Claude Bernard) and the Laboratoire Georges Friedel (LGF, CNRS/Mines Saint-Étienne).