Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2011
One and two-dimensional arrays of nanoripples and nanoprotrusions can be generated by pulsed laser irradiation. Nanoprotrusions were produced on the surface of silicon when a Lloyd's mirror configuration was used, and could develop to a height of 80 nm. Atomic force and high resolution scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that these structures are preceded by the formation of extended ripples that can reach a height of up to 12 nm. It is shown that one or two identifiable arrays of mutually orthogonal ripples may form. Out of the four differently- spaced ripple arrays that were found, three indicated a very close connection with the production of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). Interference of the incoming or refracted laser beam and the laser light scattered by surface undulations has been recognized as the cause of LIPSS formation. The present experiments show that the Lloyd's mirror configuration strongly enhances the formation of ripples and that nanoprotrusions form, sometimes at the intersection of two mutually orthogonal sets of ripples. Each of the beams, the directly incident and the mirror-reflected beam, independently produce an interference pattern with their corresponding scattered beams. However, these two independently generated patterns coincide because their periodicity is only a function of the angle of incidence. Thus, the two interference patterns reinforce each other's effects on the substrate. Single beam, direct irradiation of the substrate failed to induce nanoprotrusions, although 1-D ripple arrays developed.