Femtosecond laser nanoablation of glass in the near-field of single wall carbon nanotube bundles

This paper presents an experimental study on the femtosecond (fs) laser ablation of bundles of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) deposited on glass and the resulting nanoablation of glass beneath the bundles. The peak ablation threshold of SWCNT bundles is 50 ± 12mJcm −2 , which is about ten times lower than the theoretical ablation threshold of individual SWCNTs. Nanoscale ablation of the glass surface (30‐50nm wide, 20‐50nm deep and micrometres long) directly beneath the bundles is possible at a laser fluence of 920 ± 76mJcm −2 , which is 4‐5 times lower than the fs laser ablation threshold of glass. We attribute these reduced ablation thresholds to the enhancement of fs laser pulses in the near-field of nanotube bundles. This nanoablation approach can be used for lithographical and surgical applications requiring nanoscale precision.