Two mechanisms of crater formation in ultraviolet-pulsed-laser irradiated SiO2 thin films with artificial defects

Atomic force microscopy was employed to investigate the morphology of ultraviolet nanosecond-pulsed-laser damage in SiO2 thin films. Gold nanoparticles, 18.5-nm diameter, embedded in the film were used as calibrated absorbing defects. Damage-crater diameter, depth, and cross-sectional profiles were measured as a function of laser fluence and the lodging depth of gold nanoparticles. The results indicate that, at laser fluences close to the crater-formation threshold and for lodging depths of a few particle diameters, the dominating regime of the material removal is melting and evaporation. The morphology of craters initiated by deep absorbing defects, with a lodging depth larger than ∼10 particle diameters, clearly points to a two-stage material-removal mechanism. The process starts with the material melting within the narrow channel volume and, upon temperature and pressure buildup, film fracture takes place. Crater-diameter variation with lodging depth and laser fluence is compared with theoretical predictions.