The HiLASE Centre’s research team has published a new paper On the Melting Thresholds of Semiconductors under Nanosecond Pulse Laser Irradiation in the Applied Sciences journal.
The lead author is Jiří Beránek (Ph.D. Student: Laser Matter Interaction); this is the last publication to complete his Ph.D. thesis. His co-authors for this paper were Alexander V. Bulgakov (Nanomaterials Team Leader) and Nadezhda M. Bulgakova (Head of the Scientific Laser Applications Department and Laser-Matter Interaction Team Leader).
Abstract:
In this work, a unified numerical model is used to determine the melting thresholds and to investigate the early stages of melting of several crystalline semiconductors (Si, Ge, GaAs, CdTe and InP) irradiated by nanosecond laser pulses. A molten fraction approach is used for continuous transition over the melting point. The results are compared with previously published theoretical and experimental data. A survey on the thermophysical and optical properties of the selected materials has been carried out to gather the most relevant data on temperature dependent properties for the solid and liquid states of these semiconductors where such data are available. A generalization of the obtained results is established that enables evaluation of the melting thresholds for different semiconductors based on their properties and irradiation conditions (laser wavelength, pulse duration).
