AbstractLaser-material interactions are pivotal to optical storage technology. Laser quenching and thermomagnetic processes form the memory basis for approaches based on “phase-change” materials and magneto-optical alloys respectively. Recent progress in phase-change materials indicates that compound semiconductors as well as single element materials are characterized by fast crystallization times. In this work we review, utilizing time-resolved optical and conductivity probes, the melt-kinetics and glass formation processes in Te thin films and the laser-induced crystallization of amorphous GeTe. The latter studies are complemented by x-ray diffraction and TEM analysis. Results are also presented on time-resolved Kerr rotation studies to investigate the magnetic domain formation kinetics in thermo-magnetic recording. Material research problems facing laser interactions with optical recording materials will be discussed.
Beam–foil spectroscopy offers the efficient excitation of the spectra of a single element as well as time-resolved observation. Extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) beam–foil survey and detail spectra of Ti, Fe, Ni, and Cu are presented, as well as survey spectra of Fe and Ni obtained at an electron beam ion trap. Various details are discussed in the context of line intensity ratios, yrast transitions, prompt and delayed spectra, and intercombination transitions.
EUV Beam-Foil Spectra of Titanium, Iron, Nickel, and Copper