Formation mechanism of self-organized nano-ripples on quartz surface using femtosecond laser pulses

This article demonstrates the formation of self-organized nano-ripples on a quartz surface by irradiation of femtosecond laser pulses. Self-oriented nano-ripples are printed on the quartz surface by controlling various laser parameters: average pulse energy, pulse width, and number of laser pulses on each irradiated spot. We validate that the direction of the self-organized nano-ripples are oriented perpendicularly to the laser polarization direction. We also investigate and analyze the dependency of nano-ripples period on various laser parameters including the pulse energy, number of laser pulses, and pulse width. The nano-ripples show increasing trend with the increase of laser energy and pulse width, whereas show decreasing trend with the increase of irradiated laser pulses. We also explain, qualitatively, the formation mechanism of the self-organized nano-ripples on quartz surface. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.