Tailoring the laser irradiation effects by covering the targets with polymer tapes

Abstract Three different semiconductor materials (Si, Ge and GaAs) covered with four different polymer tapes are irradiated in air at 1, 50, 100 and 200 number of laser shots. The morphology of irradiated samples is studied through optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and optical profilometry. Heat affected zone (HAZ) of target materials is decreased after covering them with polymer tapes. Different morphologies such as crater, cracks, cavities, dendritic structures, pyramid like structures, veins like structures, periodic surface structures and micro-as well as nano-particles are formed on the surface of target materials. The profilometric measurements are performed in order to determine the depth of the formed craters which is increased with increasing number of laser shots. This study reveals that by applying some suitable polymer tapes, the undesirable laser irradiation effects such as HAZ and production of other micro structures can be avoided. The controlled ablation effects which are normally achieved with femtosecond lasers, can also be obtained with nanosecond lasers using this strategy. The proposed study can receive wide range of attractive applications in laser cutting and laser machining processes with controlled laser irradiation effects.