Nanostructure evolution in joining of Al and Fe nanoparticles with femtosecond laser irradiation

The joining of Al-Fe nanoparticles (NPs) by femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation is reported in this paper. Fe and Al NPs were deposited on a carbon film in vacuum via fs laser ablation. Particles were then exposed to multiple fs laser pulses at fluences between 0.5 and 1.3 mJ/cm2. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Electron Diffraction X-ray observations indicate that Al and Fe NPs bond to each other under these conditions. For comparison, bonding of Al to Al and Fe to Fe NPs was also investigated. The nanostructure, as observed using TEM, showed that individual Al NPs were monocrystalline while individual Fe NPs were polycrystalline prior to joining and that these structures are retained after the formation of Al-Al and Fe-Fe NPs. Al-Fe NPs produced by fs laser joining exhibited a mixed amorphous and crystalline phase at the interface. Bonding is suggested to originate from intermixing within a region of high field intensity between particles.