The origins of pressure-induced phase transformations during the surface texturing of silicon using femtosecond laser irradiation
Author(s)
Smith, Matthew J.; Sher, Meng-Ju; Franta, Benjamin; Lin, Yu-Ting; Mazur, Eric; Gradecak, Silvija; ... Show more Show less
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Surface texturing of silicon using femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation is an attractive method for enhancing light trapping, but the laser-induced damage that occurs in parallel with surface texturing can inhibit device performance. In this work, we investigate the light-material interaction during the texturing of silicon by directly correlating the formation of pressure-induced silicon polymorphs, fs-laser irradiation conditions, and the resulting morphology and microstructure using scanning electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. We show that raster scanning a pulsed laser beam with a Gaussian profile enhances the formation of crystalline pressure-induced silicon polymorphs by an order of magnitude compared with stationary pulsed fs-laser irradiation. Based on these observations, we identify resolidification-induced stresses as the mechanism responsible for driving sub-surface phase transformations during the surface texturing of silicon, the understanding of which is an important first step towards reducing laser-induced damage during the texturing of silicon with fs-laser irradiation.
Date issued
2012-10Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and EngineeringJournal
Journal of Applied Physics
Publisher
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Citation
Smith, Matthew J., Meng-Ju Sher, Benjamin Franta, Yu-Ting Lin, Eric Mazur, and Silvija Gradečak. “The origins of pressure-induced phase transformations during the surface texturing of silicon using femtosecond laser irradiation.” Journal of Applied Physics 112, no. 8 (2012): 083518. © 2012 American Institute of Physics
Version: Final published version
ISSN
00218979
1089-7550