Surface nano-texturing of silicon by picosecond laser irradiation through TiO2 nanotube arrays

This article presents, nano-texturing of crystalline silicon by irradiating picosecond laser with variable spatial intensity, caused by optically non-linear TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTA). Along with micro-scale surface structure, highly ordered laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) was observed at nanoscale. The periodicity (A) of the LIPSS generated was near to the laser wavelength (532 nm). Surface morphology at micro-level was characterized by optical microscopy (OM) and white light interferometer (WLI) and at the nano-scale by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The results highlight the potential use of TNTA as a single step process to produce micro/nanostructures without any gas/liquid medium under ambient condition. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.