Modification of surfaces by laser heating has become a very important aspect of modern materials science. The author’s own interests in laser processing have been involved in the main with laser processing of semiconductors, especially II-VI materials such as CdTe, but also amorphous silicon. Applications of laser processing are diverse and include, in addition to the selective recrystallisatio...

The dynamic transmission electron microscope (DTEM) is introduced as a novel tool for in situ processing of materials. Examples of various types of dynamic studies outline the advantages and differences of laser-based heating in the DTEM in comparison to conventional (resistive) heating in situ TEM methods. We demonstrate various unique capabilities of the drive laser, namely, in situ processin...

This thesis presents an experimental study of the effects of ultrafast laser ablation on the mechanical properties of metal laminates followed by FEA simulation to elucidate future experimental potential. The metals investigated are copper, niobium, and copper/niobium accumulative roll bonded (ARB) laminates. The two laminate materials in this study have a nominal layer thickness of 1.8 microns...

In this Letter we present the first (to our knowledge) demonstration of material modification using tightly focused single femtosecond laser vortex pulses. Double-charge femtosecond vortices were synthesized with a polarization-singularity beam converter based on light propagation in a uniaxial anisotropic medium and then focused using moderate- and high-NA optics (viz., NA=0.45 and 0.9) to abl...