Femtosecond laser stimulation of electrical discharges in submicron and nanoscale gaps

J. Chen, D. F. Farson, S. I. Rokhlin

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7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Electrical characteristics of current-controlled discharges stimulated by femtosecond laser pulses in nanoscale gaps between sharpened metal tips and gold film substrates were studied. Pulse intensity of 5.6× 1011 W cm2 reliably triggered transient discharges in 500 nm gaps. For gaps shorter than a threshold value, discharge stimulation probability was high and independent of applied potentials. At lower laser intensity, the discharge stimulation probability was also lower and depended on applied potential. It is suggested that the laser stimulated microdischarge mechanism observed in these experiments is associated with asperity breakdown by femtosecond laser ablation and field emission, resulting in release of charge carriers.

Original languageEnglish
Article number201505
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume90
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

Funding

This work was supported by NSF Contract No. DMI-0500454 and by the Center for Affordable Nanomanufacturing of Polymer Biomedical Devices with funding from NSF Award No. EEC-0425626. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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