Features of changes in the nanostructure and colorizing of copper during scanning with a femtosecond laser beam

Abstract

We have studied the nanostructuring and colorizing of the copper surface by scanning with a femtosecond laser beam with a near-Gaussian beam profile. The experimental studies were conducted using a femtosecond laser comprising a Ti:Sapphire oscillator and a multi-pass amplifier with the maximum pulse energy of 0.7 mJ, pulse frequency of 1 kHz, and pulse duration <30 fs. It is shown that the use of a short-pulsed femtosecond laser leads to the formation of wavelength scale periodic surface structures and eventually increases the brightness of the color of the copper surface. It is revealed that via reciprocally scanning the copper surface by multiple ultrashort laser pulses with a weakly asymmetric spatial energy density distribution and an energy density below the material ablation threshold, it is possible to create a combined nanostructure composed of low-spatial-frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures coated with nanoscale roughness. It is shown that relatively minor changes in the nanostructures obtained by scanning the copper surface by multiple ultrashort laser pulses can lead to a significant change in the color during surface colorizing.