Open AccessLaser-induced oxidation kinetics of bismuth surface microdroplets on GaAsBi studied in situ by Raman microprobe analysis
Author(s) -
Julian A. Steele,
R. A. Lewis
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.032261
Subject(s) - bismuth , raman spectroscopy , microprobe , materials science , laser , kinetics , context (archaeology) , laser power scaling , analytical chemistry (journal) , optics , mineralogy , chemistry , paleontology , physics , chromatography , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , biology
We report the cw-laser-induced oxidation of molecular-beam-epitaxy grown GaAsBi bismuth surface microdroplets investigated in situ by micro-Raman spectroscopy under ambient conditions as a function of irradiation power and time. Our results reveal the surface droplets are high-purity crystalline bismuth and the resultant Bi 2 O 3 transformation to be β-phase and stable at room temperature. A detailed Raman study of Bi microdroplet oxidation kinetics yields insights into the laser-induced oxidation process and offers useful real-time diagnostics. The temporal evolution of new β-Bi 2 O 3 Raman modes is shown to be well described by Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov kinetic transformation theory and while this study limits itself to the laser-induced oxidation of GaAsBi bismuth surface droplets, the results will find application within the wider context of bismuth laser-induced oxidation and direct Raman laser processing.