Ultrashort pulsed laser induced complex surface structures generated by tailoring the melt hydrodynamics

We present a novel approach for tailoring the laser induced surface topography upon femtosecond (fs) pulsed laser irradiation. The method employs spatially controlled double fs laser pulses to actively regulate the hydrodynamic microfluidic motion of the melted layer that gives rise to the structures formation. The pulse train used, in particular, consists of a previously unexplored spatiotemporal intensity combination including one pulse with Gaussian and another with periodically modulated intensity distribution created by Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP). The interpulse delay is appropriately chosen to reveal the contribution of the microfluidic melt flow, while it is found that the sequence of the Gaussian and DLIP pulses remarkably influences the surface profile attained. Results also demonstrate that both the spatial intensity of the double pulse and the effective number of pulses per irradiation spot can further be modulated to control the formation of complex surface morphologies. The underlying physical processes behind the complex patterns’ generation were interpreted in terms of a multiscale model combining electrodynamic excitation with melt hydrodynamics. We believe that this work can constitute a significant step forward towards producing laser induced surface structures on demand by tailoring the melt microfluidic phenomena.