Laser/Microstructure Interaction and Ultrafast Heat Transfer

The industrial demand for smaller structures required for the manufacture of quantum devices and high density recording media have resulted in the need for fabrication technology at the nanometer scale. It is shown in this text that laser/microstructure interaction can break the diffraction limit, creating nanoscale surface modifications in both localized and parallel fashions. Two fundamental problems required for predictive optical nanolithography are addressed here: the electrodynamic response of laser energy in the vicinity of micro/nanostructures, and the resulting energy transport through a target material. Three-dimensional electromagnetic fields are resolved in the near-field of irradiated microstructures using advanced numerical techniques. Energy transport through the substrate is subsequently modeled using conventional conduction formulae and ultrafast electron density evolution. The combined electrodynamic/heat transfer solutions generate final lithographic predictions which are referenced to experiment. This work then investigates the interaction between lasers and optically dispersive nanostructures for photonic and plasmonic applications.