Physico-chemical aspects of femtosecond-pulse-laser-induced surface nanostructures

Near-ablation threshold investigations focusing on the generation of periodic nanostructures and their correlation with physico-chemical properties of the solid phase such as e.g., the material-dependent surface energy, were conducted. Molecular dynamic modelling in the sub-picosecond time domain was used to consider ultrafast opto-electronic processes triggering surface reorganization reactions. Fluid containment of solid interfaces showed strong influence on the resulting micro- and nanostructures due to its drastic reduction of the surface energy. The phenomena are discussed in respect to the minimization of the surface free energy in dependence of material composition and interfacial structure.