Picosecond laser ablation of high-quality micro-grooves on CIGS (CuIn(1-x)Ga2Sex) thin films

This paper presents a study of the effects of ablation direction, beam profile and outer environment on the width and morphology of micro-grooves ablated by a 10-ps, 532-nm laser with a changing range of fluences and scan speeds on 600 nm-thick CIGS (CuIn(1-x)Ga2Sex) thin films. Experiments show that rear-side ablation by picosecond laser with a flat top beam in water environment yields a larger groove width than normal front-side ablation with a Gaussian beam in air, which is attributed to different material removal mechanisms, uniform energy distribution and the refraction of laser in water. The heat-affected zone and irregular edges induced by the tearing effect are the main defects of groove morphology associated with front- and rear-side ablation processes, respectively. Our studies indicate that flat top beam ablation, in general, inhibits the over-ablation in the central region, thereby improving the uniformity of grooves, though it does not eliminate the heat-affected zone and irregularity of two edges. The straightness of groove edges is further improved with the flat top beam ablation carried out in a water environment, resulting from the action of the shock wave in water. Hence, the nearly perfect micro-grooves can be fabricated with rear-side flat top beam ablation under water, which are characterized by steep sidewalls, straight edges and intact glass substrate without cracks.