e-Article
Formation and evolution of self-organized hexagonal patterns on silicon surface by laser irradiation in water
Document Type
Report
Author
Source
Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing. March, 2009, Vol. 94 Issue 3, p649, 8 p.
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
0947-8396
Abstract
It was found that laser irradiation of silicon immersed in water can lead to regular hexagonal patterns on the silicon surface with period of [proportional to]10 um within several tens of minutes. The formation and the evolution of the surface patterns can be interpreted as Rayleigh--Taylor instability of the melted silicon layer under the interfacial pressure formed by fast boiling of the interfacial water at the laser-heated silicon surface. Based on the mechanism, a liquid film equation was proposed. The time evolution of the patterns was then compared with that of the well-defined classical Rayleigh--Taylor instability system. It showed that the two systems were qualitatively consistent in several aspects, supporting the Rayleigh--Taylor instability mechanism proposed.