Electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) method for modeling the formation of metal surface structures induced by femtosecond laser radiation

Madjid Djouder , O. Lamrous (1) , Md Mitiche , Tatiana Itina (2) , M. Zemirli

1 LPCQ - Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Quantique [Tizi-Ouzou]
2 LHC - Laboratoire Hubert Curien

The particle in cell (PIC) method coupled to the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is used to model the formation of laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) at the early stage of femtosecond laser irradiation of smooth metal surface. The theoretical results were analyzed and compared with experimental data taken from the literature. It was shown that the optical properties of the target are not homogeneous and the ejection of electrons is such that ripples in the electron density were obtained. The Coulomb explosion mechanism was proposed to explain the ripples formation under the considered conditions.

Keywords: modeling; surface structures; femtosecond laser

Domains: Chemical and Process Engineering

Madjid Djouder, O. Lamrous, Md Mitiche, Tatiana Itina, M. Zemirli. Electromagnetic particle-in-cell (PIC) method for modeling the formation of metal surface structures induced by femtosecond laser radiation. Applied Surface Science, 2013, 280, pp.711-714. ⟨10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.05.047⟩. ⟨ujm-00867100⟩