Laser induced patterning of Bi thin films

Laser irradiation of Bismuth thin films through a diffractive mask was investigated. The thin films were composed of nano and microcrystals Bismuth with sizes ranging from 20 to 500 nm. Upon laser irradiation (λ=355 nm) the structured illumination field locally modified the material. In the high intensity regions the surface was transformed whilst low intensity areas were left intact. The modification mechanism was melting followed by coalescence of the nanocrystals giving rise to a more uniform structure. The laser irradiated area was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The patterns were computed by Fresnel diffraction theory and the agreement between the theory and the experiments was very good.