Selective Ablation of thin Nickel-chromium-alloy Films Using Ultrashort Pulsed Laser☆

Abstract The selective ablation of 100nm thin Nickel-Chromium-alloy films on glass substrate was investigated using femtosecond laser pulses (λ=1030nm, τ p =170 fs, E p,max =7μJ). The influence of the processing parameters such as fluence, pulse number and pulse repetition rate on the ablation process was examined. Single and multiple pulses ablation thresholds of the Nickel-Chromium-alloy film were determined and the incubation coefficient calculated. Optical and electron microscopy were employed to characterize the patterned area. As a result, different irradiation morphologies were observed, dependent from the processing parameters. A processing window for film side ablation of the Nickel-Chromium-alloy film without damaging the underlying glass substrate was found, however, the edge of the ablation craters were covered with laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS).