Local held enhancement effects for nanostructuring of surfaces

We report on a method that allows the nanostructuring of surfaces with inte nse laser pulses. For this purpose isolated polystyrene spheres with diamet ers in the order of the laser wavelength were deposited on a silicon or gla ss surface. Illumination with short and ultrashort laser pulses produced ho les underneath these particles. Calculations of the field near the particle s make clear that geometrical optics, that is, focusing by a spherical lens , as well as near-field effects, contribute to the size and shape of these holes. This technique can be utilized for the parallel structuring of large surface areas with a single laser shot.