TY - JOUR

T1 - Hierarchical anti-reflective laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSSs) on amorphous Si films for sensing applications

AU - Dostovalov, A.

AU - Bronnikov, K.

AU - Korolkov, V.

AU - Babin, S.

AU - Mitsai, E.

AU - Mironenko, A.

AU - Tutov, M.

AU - Zhang, D.

AU - Sugioka, K.

AU - Maksimovic, J.

AU - Katkus, T.

AU - Juodkazis, S.

AU - Zhizhchenko, A.

AU - Kuchmizhak, A.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Royal Society of Chemistry. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2020/7/7

Y1 - 2020/7/7

N2 - Here, we applied direct laser-induced periodic surface structuring to drive the phase transition of amorphous silicon (a-Si) into nanocrystalline (nc) Si imprinted as regular arrangement of Si nanopillars passivated with a SiO2 layer. By varying the laser beam scanning speed at a fixed pulse energy, we successfully tailored the resulting unique surface morphology of the formed LIPSSs that change from ordered arrangement of conical protrusions to highly uniform surface gratings, where sub-wavelength scale ripples decorate the valleys between near-wavelength scale ridges. Along with the surface morphology, the nc-Si/SiO2 volume ratio can also be controlled via laser processing parameters allowing the tailoring of the optical properties of the produced textured surfaces to achieve anti-reflection performance or partial transmission in the visible spectral range. Diverse hierarchical LIPSSs can be fabricated and replicated over large-scale areas opening a pathway for various applications including optical sensors, nanoscale temperature management, and solar light harvesting. By taking advantage of good wettability, enlarged surface area and remarkable light-trapping characteristics of the produced hierarchical morphologies, we demonstrated the first LIPSS-based surface enhanced fluorescent sensor that allowed the identification of metal cations providing a sub-nM detection limit unachievable by conventional fluorescence measurements in solutions.

AB - Here, we applied direct laser-induced periodic surface structuring to drive the phase transition of amorphous silicon (a-Si) into nanocrystalline (nc) Si imprinted as regular arrangement of Si nanopillars passivated with a SiO2 layer. By varying the laser beam scanning speed at a fixed pulse energy, we successfully tailored the resulting unique surface morphology of the formed LIPSSs that change from ordered arrangement of conical protrusions to highly uniform surface gratings, where sub-wavelength scale ripples decorate the valleys between near-wavelength scale ridges. Along with the surface morphology, the nc-Si/SiO2 volume ratio can also be controlled via laser processing parameters allowing the tailoring of the optical properties of the produced textured surfaces to achieve anti-reflection performance or partial transmission in the visible spectral range. Diverse hierarchical LIPSSs can be fabricated and replicated over large-scale areas opening a pathway for various applications including optical sensors, nanoscale temperature management, and solar light harvesting. By taking advantage of good wettability, enlarged surface area and remarkable light-trapping characteristics of the produced hierarchical morphologies, we demonstrated the first LIPSS-based surface enhanced fluorescent sensor that allowed the identification of metal cations providing a sub-nM detection limit unachievable by conventional fluorescence measurements in solutions.

KW - FEMTOSECOND LASER

KW - LARGE-AREA

KW - FABRICATION

KW - SILICON

KW - METAL

KW - METASURFACES

KW - RIPPLES

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087629407&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1039/d0nr02182b

DO - 10.1039/d0nr02182b

M3 - Article

C2 - 32614002

AN - SCOPUS:85087629407

VL - 12

SP - 13431

EP - 13441

JO - Nanoscale

JF - Nanoscale

SN - 2040-3364

IS - 25

ER -