Fabrication of nanometer-size structures in metal thin films using femtosecond laser Bessel beams

We report nanometer-scale fabrication on metal thin films using ablation by femtosecond laser pulses, with Bessel beam profiles. Choosing the laser fluence around ablation threshold allows control of the structure size below the diffraction limit. We show that using Bessel beams has several advantages. Bessel beams have focal spot sizes insensitive to longitudinal position, which significantly relaxes alignment constraints. Tighter foci are easier to generate, less costly, and less prone to aberrations. Scaling the method to shorter wavelengths, and hence increasing the resolution is also straightforward. By using the proposed method, we generate structures with resolution below 200 nm. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3678030]