Laser applications in nanotechnology

This article discusses a variety of laser applications in nanotechnology. The laser has proven to be one of many mature and reliable manufacturing tools, with applications in modern industries, from surface cleaning to thin-film deposition. Laser nanoengineering has several advantages over electron-beam and focused ion beam processing. For example, it is a low-cost, high-speed process in air, vacuum or chemical environments and also has the capability to fulfill flexible integration control. This article considers laser nanotechnology in the following areas: pulsed laser ablation for nanomaterials synthesis; laser nanoprocessing to make nanobumps for disk media nanotribology and anneal ultrashort PN junctions; surface nanopatterning with near-field, and light-enhancement effects; and large-area parallel laser nanopatterning by laser interference lithography and laser irradiation through a microlens array. Based on these applications, the article argues that the laser will continue to be one of the highly potential nanoengineering means in next-generation manufacturing.