Short and ultrashort laser pulses: an upcoming tool for processing optical and semiconductor materials

The role of chemical reactions is investigated versus the thermal and mechanical processes occurring in a polymer substrate during irradiation by a laser pulse and subsequent ablation. Molecular dynamics simulations with an embedded Monte Carlo based reaction scheme were used to study ultraviolet ablation of poly͑methyl methacrylate͒ at 157 nm. We discuss the onset of ablation, the mechanisms leading to ablation, and the role of stress relaxation of the polymer matrix during ablation. Laser induced heating and chemical decomposition of the polymer substrate are considered as ablation pathways. It is shown that heating the substrate can set off ablation via mechanical failure of the material only for very short laser pulses. For longer pulses, the mechanism of ejection is thermally driven limited by the critical number of bonds broken in the substrate. Alternatively, if the photon energy goes towards direct bond breaking, it initiates chemical reactions, polymer unzipping, and formation of gaseous products, leading to a nearly complete decomposition of the top layers of substrates. The ejection of small molecules has a hollowing out effect on the weakly connected substrates which can lead to lift-off of larger chunks. Excessive pressure buildup upon the creation of gaseous molecules does not lead to enhanced yield. The larger clusters are thermally ejected, and an entrainment of larger polymer fragments in gaseous molecules is not observed.

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Coupled molecular dynamics-Monte Carlo model to study the role of chemical processes during laser ablation of polymeric materials

Prasad

Conforti

Garrison

2007

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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The coarse grained chemical reaction model is enhanced to build a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation framework with an embedded Monte Carlo (MC) based reaction scheme. The MC scheme utilizes predetermined reaction chemistry, energetics, and rate kinetics of materials to incorporate chemical reactions occurring in a substrate into the MD simulation. The kinetics information is utilized to set the probabilities for the types of reactions to perform based on radical survival times and reaction rates. Implementing a reaction involves changing the reactants species types which alters their interaction potentials and thus produces the required energy change. We discuss the application of this method to study the initiation of ultraviolet laser ablation in poly(methyl methacrylate). The use of this scheme enables the modeling of all possible photoexcitation pathways in the polymer. It also permits a direct study of the role of thermal, mechanical, and chemical processes that can set off ablation. We demonstrate that the role of laser induced heating, thermomechanical stresses, pressure wave formation and relaxation, and thermochemical decomposition of the polymer substrate can be investigated directly by suitably choosing the potential energy and chemical reaction energy landscape. The results highlight the usefulness of such a modeling approach by showing that various processes in polymer ablation are intricately linked leading to the transformation of the substrate and its ejection. The method, in principle, can be utilized to study systems where chemical reactions are expected to play a dominant role or interact strongly with other physical processes.

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Short and ultrashort laser pulses: an upcoming tool for processing optical and semiconductor materials

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

Laser Dicing of Silicon and Electronics Substrates

Laser Dicing of Silicon and Electronics Substrates

On the role of chemical reactions in initiating ultraviolet laser ablation in poly(methyl methacrylate)

Coupled molecular dynamics-Monte Carlo model to study the role of chemical processes during laser ablation of polymeric materials

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