An In-situ Transmission X-ray Microscope to Observe the Dewetting Process of Au Thin Films induced by Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Irradiation

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Physical Society Vol. 75; no. 7; pp. 523 - 527
• Main Authors: Lee, Su Yong, Choi, Jung Won, Kim, Yoonhee, Noh, Do Young, Kang, Hyon Chol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Physical Society 01.10.2019; Springer Nature B.V; 한국물리학회
• Subjects: Drying; Irradiation; Lasers; Mathematical and Computational Physics; Nanoparticles; Neodymium lasers; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Pulse duration; Pulsed lasers; Shot; Theoretical; Thickness; Thin films; YAG lasers; 물리학; transmission X-ray microscope; Au nanoparticles; Photo-induced dewetting process; Zernike phase contrast
• ISSN: 0374-4884; 1976-8524
• DOI: 10.3938/jkps.75.523

We coupled an in-situ transmission X-ray microscope (TXM) with a Nd:YAG pulsed laser with a 532-nm wavelength and a 6-ns pulse width. This system was employed to investigate the photo-induced morphological evolution in Au thin films during shot-by-shot irradiation by a single laser pulse. Based on results for Au thin films with thicknesses of 10 and 20 nm, we successfully demonstrated the in-situ TXM system to be a powerful tool for imaging the photo-induced transition from metal thin films to metal nanoparticles. We also found that the sequence of steps leading to this transition depended critically on the thickness of the Au films.