Comparative experimental study of laser-induced transitions in crystalline silicon by femtosecond, picosecond, and millisecond laser ablation

In order to study laser-induced transitions of the crystalline silicon, comparative ablation experiments by femtosecond-, picosecond-, and millisecond-pulsed laser were carried out on<111>crystalline silicon wafers in this study. For each laser ablating process, final chemical composition and microstructural state of ablated material on sample surface were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. Then the influences of laser pulse duration variation on the composition and microstructure of ablated material were also discussed. Therefore, the experimental results were considered to provide more completed and further understandings of laser-induced transitions of crystalline silicon, which may have some contribution to the development of laser-semiconductors micromachining.