Ultrafast laser-induced microexplosions: explosive dynamics and submicrometer structures

Christopher B. Schaffer; Eli N. Glezer; Nozomi Nishimura; Eric Mazur

doi:10.1117/12.312339

8 July 1998 Ultrafast laser-induced microexplosions: explosive dynamics and submicrometer structures

Christopher B. Schaffer, Eli N. Glezer, Nozomi Nishimura, Eric Mazur

Proceedings Volume 3269, Commercial Applications of Ultrafast Lasers; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.312339
Event: Optoelectronics and High-Power Lasers and Applications, 1998, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses can be nonlinearly absorbed inside transparent materials, creating a highly excited electron-ion plasma. These conditions exist only in a small volume at the laser focus. This tight confinement and extreme conditions lead to an explosive expansion -- a microexplosion. In solid materials, a microexplosion can result in permanent structural changes. We find that the damage produced by femtosecond pulses in this way is surprisingly small, with only a 200-nm diameter. Material left at the center of the microexplosion is either amorphous and less dense or entirely absent. The threshold for breakdown and structural change is nearly independent of material. Time- resolved measurements of microexplosions in water allow us to observe the dynamics of the explosive expansion. The structural changes in solids resulting from microexplosions allow for three-dimensional data storage and internal microstructuring of transparent solids.

Citation Download Citation

Christopher B. Schaffer, Eli N. Glezer, Nozomi Nishimura, and Eric Mazur "Ultrafast laser-induced microexplosions: explosive dynamics and submicrometer structures", Proc. SPIE 3269, Commercial Applications of Ultrafast Lasers, (8 July 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.312339

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