Three-dimensional bulk modification of dielectric materials by multiphoton absorption of laser pulses is a well-established technology. The use of multiphoton absorption to machine bulk silicon has been investigated by a number of authors using femtosecond laser sources. However, no modifications confined in bulk silicon, induced by multiphoton absorption, have been reported so far. Based on results from numerical simulations, we employed an erbium-doped fiber laser operating at a relatively long pulse duration of 3.5 nanoseconds and a wavelength of 1549 nm for this process. We found that these laser parameters are suitable to produce modifications at various depths inside crystalline silicon.

We investigated the laser-material interaction during the production of laser-induced subsurface modifications in silicon with a numerical model. Such modifications are of interest for subsurface wafer dicing. To predict the shape of these modifications, a two-temperature model and an optical model were combined. We compared the model results with experimental data obtained by focusing laser pulses in the bulk of silicon wafers using a microscope objective. This comparison revealed a good agreement between the simulations and the experimental results. A parameter study was performed to investigate the effect of the laser wavelength, pulse duration and pulse energy on the formation of subsurface modifications. We found that both single-and multi-photon absorption may be used to produce subsurface modifications in silicon. P.C. Verburg ( ) •

Laser-induced subsurface modification of dielectric materials is a well-known technology. Applications include the production of optical components and selective etching. In addition to dielectric materials, the subsurface modification technology can be applied to silicon, by employing near to midinfrared radiation. An application of subsurface modifications in silicon is laser-induced subsurface separation, which is a method to separate wafers into individual dies. Other applications for which proofs of concept exist are the formation of waveguides and resistivity tuning. However, limited knowledge is available about the crystal structure of subsurface modifications in silicon. In this work, we investigate the geometry and crystal structure of laser-induced subsurface modifications in monocrystalline silicon wafers. In addition to the generation of lattice defects, we found that transformations to amorphous silicon and Si-III/Si-XII occur as a result of the laser irradiation.