Inexpensive laser-induced surface modification in bismuth thin films

In this work, we present results on texturing a 500 nm thick bismuth film, deposited by sputtering onto a glass slide using a low-cost homemade, near-infrared pulsed laser platform. A 785 nm laser diode of a CD-DVD pickup head was precisely focused on the sample mounted on a motorized two-axis translation stage to generate localized surface microbumps on the bismuth films. This simple method successfully transferred desired micropatterns on the films in a computer-numerical control fashion. Irradiated zones were characterized by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that final results are strongly dependent on irradiation parameters.