Pulsed-laser irradiated silicon studied by time-resolved x-ray absorption (90<i>–</i>300 eV)

Abstract

We report the first x-ray absorption spectra of pulsed-laser irradiated amorphous Si around the Si L edge, recorded with a time resolution of 18 hs. At irradiances above 0.17 J/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ significant differences are found with the spectrum of amorphous Si. The disappearance of the characteristic Si ${\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{I}\mathrm{I},\mathrm{I}\mathrm{I}\mathrm{I}}$ edge structure at 100 eV and the decrease in overall absorption are interpreted in terms of the metallic character of liquid Si and the formation of droplets, respectively.