Slim: A Personal Computer Based Software for Simulation of Laser Interaction with Materials
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SLIM: A PERSONAL COMPUTER BASED SOFTWARE FOR SIMULATION OF LASER INTERACTION WITH MATERIALS
RAJIV K. SINGH and JOHN VIATELLA Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Florida Gainesville, FL 326112066
ABSTRACT A user-friendly, personal computer (PC) based routine called SLIM [Simulation of Laser Interaction with Materials] has been developed to understand the non-equilibrium effects of high intensity, short laser pulses on different materials. By employing an accurate implicit finite difference scheme with varying spatial and temporal node dimensions, the time-dependent thermal history of laser-irradiated material can be accurately and quickly determined. This program can take into account the temperature dependent optical and thermal properties of the solid, time dependent laser pulse intensity, and formation and propagation of the melt and/or vaporization interfaces induced by intense laser irradiation. The program can also simulate thermal effects on multilayer structures exposed to pulsed laser irradiation It is expected that this simulation routine will be indispensable to all researchers working in the area of pulsed laser processing of materials, including rapid heating, melting, annealing, laser doping, laser deposition of thin films and laser solidification processing.
INTRODUCTION Lasers offer an unique tool for processing of metals, semiconductors and ceramics [1]. Pulsed nanosecond lasers restrict high temperatures only to the surface regions for very brief times without affecting the bulk properties. Ultrarapid heating and solidification induced by highintensity laser pulses can cause formation of novel compounds and metastable alloys and also provide a tool for study of non-equilibrium crystal growth in semiconductors. Laser melting and solidification (referred as laser annealing) in semiconductors has been used in the removal of ion implantation damage, production of supersaturated alloys, formation of metal silicides and ohmic contacts, and deposition and growth of epitaxial thin films [1]. In the last four years, pulsednanosecond excimer lasers have been applied to deposit high quality superconducting YBa 2 Cu3 0 7 thin films by evaporating/ablating bulk targets having similar composition as the desired film [2-3]. Recently, rapid non-equilibrium melting and solidification effects generated on laser-irradiated, carbon-doped copper substrates have been used to fabricate diamond thin films [4]. Table I lists some of the applications of pulsed laser processing of materials. The examples show the vast range of applications of pulsed lasers in processing of materials. In each of the above cases, photon energy from the laser is transferred to heat in very short time scales (< 1 picosecond), which gives rise to intense thermal effects on surface of the irradiated material. By controlling the parameters (laser wavelength, energy density, substrate type, temperature, etc), desired thermal effects can be induced on the material. As the processing times are extremely short ( -100 nanose
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