High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy

Hihath, Sahar; Santala, Melissa K.; Cen, Xi; Campbell, Geoffrey; van Benthem, Klaus

doi:10.1038/srep23046

Title: High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy

Journal Article · Fri Mar 11 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep23046· OSTI ID:1259514

Hihath, Sahar ^[1]; Santala, Melissa K. ^[2]; Cen, Xi ^[3]; Campbell, Geoffrey ^[2]; van Benthem, Klaus ^[3]

Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Obliteration of matter by pulsed laser beams is not only prevalent in science fiction movies, but finds numerous technological applications ranging from additive manufacturing over machining of micro- and nanostructured features to health care. Pulse lengths ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds are utilized at varying laser beam energies and pulse lengths, and enable the removal of nanometric volumes of material. While the mechanisms for removal of material by laser irradiation, i.e., laser ablation, are well understood on the micrometer length scale, it was previously impossible to directly observe obliteration processes on smaller scales due to experimental limitations for the combination of nanometer spatial and nanosecond temporal resolution. Here, we report the direct observation of metal thin film ablation from a solid substrate through dynamic transmission electron microscopy. Quantitative analysis reveals liquid-phase dewetting of the thin-film, followed by hydrodynamic sputtering of nano- to submicron sized metal droplets. We discovered unexpected fracturing of the substrate due to evolving thermal stresses. In addition, this study confirms that hydrodynamic sputtering remains a valid mechanism for droplet expulsion on the nanoscale, while irradiation induced stress fields represent limit laser processing of nanostructured materials. Our results allow for improved safety during laser ablation in manufacturing and medical applications.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344; 12-LR-238313; DMR-0955638

OSTI ID:: 1259514

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1324515

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL-694111; srep23046

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Vol. 6; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 2 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (34)

Military technology: Laser weapons get real Extance, Andy Nature, Vol. 521, Issue 7553 https://doi.org/10.1038/521408a	journal	May 2015
Damage-free ultraviolet nanosecond laser ablation for high efficiency back contact solar cell fabrication Walter, Daniel; Fell, Andreas; Franklin, Evan Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 136 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2014.12.030	journal	May 2015
Laser scribing of polycrystalline thin films Compaan, A. D.; Matulionis, I.; Nakade, S. Optics and Lasers in Engineering, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0143-8166(00)00061-0	journal	July 2000
The role of an interface on Ni film removal and surface roughness after irradiation by femtosecond laser pulses Murphy, Ryan D.; Torralva, Ben; Yalisove, Steven M. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 102, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4804371	journal	May 2013
Rapid Prototyping for Soft-Matter Electronics Lu, Tong; Finkenauer, Lauren; Wissman, James Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 24, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201303732	journal	February 2014
New intrastromal corneal reshaping procedure using high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses Han, Taehee; Li, Deng; Hersh, Peter S. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, Vol. 41, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrs.2015.05.008	journal	January 2015
Clearance of yellow tattoo ink with a novel 532-nm picosecond laser: CLEARANCE OF YELLOW TATTOO INK WITH A NOVEL 532-NM PICOSECOND LASER Alabdulrazzaq, Hamad; Brauer, Jeremy A.; Bae, Yoon-Soo Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, Vol. 47, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/lsm.22354	journal	April 2015
Characterization of Particulates Accompanying Laser Ablation of NaNO ₃ Webb, R. L.; Dickinson, J. T.; Exarhos, G. J. Applied Spectroscopy, Vol. 51, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1366/0003702971940855	journal	May 1997
Evidence for phase-explosion and generation of large particles during high power nanosecond laser ablation of silicon Yoo, J. H.; Jeong, S. H.; Mao, X. L. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 76, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.125894	journal	February 2000
Plasma and ablation dynamics in ultrafast laser processing of crystalline silicon Choi, Tae Y.; Grigoropoulos, Costas P. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 92, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1510565	journal	November 2002
Particle formation and plasma radiative losses during laser ablation suitability of the Sedov-Taylor scaling Palanco, Santiago; Marino, Salvatore; Gabás, Mercedes Optics Express, Vol. 22, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.22.016552	journal	January 2014
Ultrafast lasers—reliable tools for advanced materials processing Sugioka, Koji; Cheng, Ya Light: Science & Applications, Vol. 3, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/lsa.2014.30	journal	April 2014
Pulsed-laser-induced dewetting in nanoscopic metal films: Theory and experiments Trice, Justin; Thomas, Dennis; Favazza, Christopher Physical Review B, Vol. 75, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.75.235439	journal	June 2007
Characterization of laser ablation of solid targets with near-infrared laser pulses of 100fs and 1ps duration Amoruso, S.; Ausanio, G.; Bruzzese, R. Applied Surface Science, Vol. 252, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2005.06.045	journal	April 2006
Atomic-Scale Imaging in Real and Energy Space Developed in Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Park, Hyun Soon; Baskin, J. Spencer; Kwon, Oh-Hoon Nano Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl071369q	journal	September 2007
Micrographia of the twenty-first century: from camera obscura to 4D microscopy Zewail, Ahmed H. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 368, Issue 1914 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2009.0265	journal	March 2010
4d Ultrafast Electron Diffraction, Crystallography, and Microscopy Zewail, Ahmed H. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 57, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.physchem.57.032905.104748	journal	May 2006
Characterization of fast photoelectron packets in weak and strong laser fields in ultrafast electron microscopy Plemmons, Dayne A.; Tae Park, Sang; Zewail, Ahmed H. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 146 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2014.08.001	journal	November 2014
Single-shot dynamic transmission electron microscopy LaGrange, T.; Armstrong, M. R.; Boyden, K. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 89, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2236263	journal	July 2006
Imaging of Transient Structures Using Nanosecond in Situ TEM Kim, Judy S.; LaGrange, Thomas; Reed, Bryan W. Science, Vol. 321, Issue 5895 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1161517	journal	September 2008
Movie-mode dynamic electron microscopy LaGrange, Thomas; Reed, Bryan W.; Masiel, Daniel J. MRS Bulletin, Vol. 40, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2014.282	journal	January 2015
Irreversible reactions studied with nanosecond transmission electron microscopy movies: Laser crystallization of phase change materials Santala, M. K.; Reed, B. W.; Raoux, S. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 102, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4803921	journal	April 2013
Practical considerations for high spatial and temporal resolution dynamic transmission electron microscopy Armstrong, Michael R.; Boyden, Ken; Browning, Nigel D. Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 107, Issue 4-5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultramic.2006.09.005	journal	April 2007
Progress in the Preparation of Cross-Sectional TEM Specimens by Ion-Beam Thinning: Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Manfred Rühle on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday Strecker, Adolf; Bäder, Ute; Kelsch, Marion Zeitschrift für Metallkunde, Vol. 94, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.3139/146.030290	journal	March 2003
Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy in the Electron Microscope Egerton, R. F. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5099-7	book	January 1996
Recent developments in dynamic transmission electron microscopy Browning, N. D.; Bonds, M. A.; Campbell, G. H. Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, Vol. 16, Issue 1, p. 23-30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cossms.2011.07.001	journal	February 2012
Real-Time Observation of Nanosecond Liquid-Phase Assembly of Nickel Nanoparticles via Pulsed-Laser Heating McKeown, Joseph T.; Roberts, Nicholas A.; Fowlkes, Jason D. Langmuir, Vol. 28, Issue 49 https://doi.org/10.1021/la303657e	journal	October 2012
Dewetting of thin polymer films Reiter, Günter Physical Review Letters, Vol. 68, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.75	journal	January 1992
Spinodal Dewetting in Liquid Crystal and Liquid Metal Films Herminghaus, S. Science, Vol. 282, Issue 5390 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5390.916	journal	October 1998
Interactions of wide band‐gap single crystals with 248 nm excimer laser radiation. I. MgO Webb, R. L.; Jensen, L. C.; Langford, S. C. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 74, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.354718	journal	August 1993
Interactions of wide band‐gap single crystals with 248 nm excimer laser radiation. II. NaCl Webb, R. L.; Jensen, L. C.; Langford, S. C. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 74, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.354719	journal	August 1993
Thermal stability of crystalline thin films Jiang, Q.; Tong, H. Y.; Hsu, D. T. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 312, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-6090(97)00732-3	journal	January 1998
Near‐threshold laser sputtering of gold Bennett, Ted D.; Grigoropoulos, Costas P.; Krajnovich, Douglas J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 77, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.359010	journal	January 1995
Transport Phenomena and Droplet Formation During Pulsed Laser Interaction With Thin Films Willis, D. A.; Xu, X. Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 122, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1288931	journal	April 2000

Cited By (1)

Real-time observation of jumping and spinning nanodroplets Olshin, Pavel K.; Voss, Jonathan M.; Drabbels, Marcel Structural Dynamics, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5135699	journal	January 2020

Similar Records

Dynamics of ultrathin metal films on amorphous substrates under fast thermal processing

Journal Article · Thu Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2007 · Journal of Applied Physics · OSTI ID:1259514

Favazza, Christopher; Kalyanaraman, Ramki; Sureshkumar, Radhakrishna

Time-resolved analysis of thickness-dependent dewetting and ablation of silver films upon nanosecond laser irradiation

Journal Article · Mon May 23 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:1259514

Qi, Dongfeng; Paeng, Dongwoo; Yeo, Junyeob; +3 more

A method for the formation of Pt metal nanoparticle arrays using nanosecond pulsed laser dewetting

Journal Article · Mon May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:1259514

Owusu-Ansah, Ebenezer; Horwood, Corie A.; Birss, Viola I.; +1 more

Related Subjects

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Title: High speed direct imaging of thin metal film ablation by movie-mode dynamic transmission electron microscopy

Citation Formats

References (34)

Cited By (1)

Similar Records

Related Subjects