The impact of O/Si ratio and hydrogen content on ArF excimer laser ablation of fused silica

D. Tasche; C. Gerhard; J. Ihlemann; S. Wieneke; W. Viöl

doi:10.2971/jeos.2014.14026

Journal of the European Optical Society - Rapid publications, Vol 9 (2014)

The impact of O/Si ratio and hydrogen content on ArF excimer laser ablation of fused silica

D. Tasche, C. Gerhard, J. Ihlemann, S. Wieneke, W. Viöl

Abstract

The impact of stoichiometry and hydrogen content on the ArF excimer laser ablation characteristics of fused silica is investigated. Nearsurface substoichiometic SiOx with x < 2 diminishes the ablation threshold as a result of increased absorption. The ablation rate is raised by an elevated hydrogen content. As confirmed by mass spectrometric analysis, the laser-induced formation of substoichiometric near-surface layers within the ablation spot sustains absorption and ablation for consecutive laser pulses.

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