TABLE OF CONTENTS Aleksandr Ovsianikov
Boris N. Chichkov,
Nanotechnology Department, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V.,
Hannover,Germany e-mail: b.chichkov@lzh.de
Abstract The development of high-precision fabrication techniques is an essential factor and a driving power for the increasing progress in the field of nanotechnology. The femtosecond (10 ?15 s) laser technology opens a broad range of opportunities for cost-efficient manufacturing with high resolution and unprecedented flexibility. In this chapter we discuss principles and advances in two-photon activated laser processing.
The history of the development of the femtosecond laser systems is an intense and exciting one. The associated scientific findings have produced a leap in the understanding of many physical and chemical processes. Due to the extremely short duration of the pulse, the peak power of modern commercially available tabletop laser can exceed 200 GW [1]. In comparison, the total power of power stations of Germany, including solar power plants and wind power stations, are expected to approach 120 GW by the year 2010 [2]. Application of femtosecond pulses allows the introduction of laser energy with unprecedented precision in space and time. First short pulses, demonstrated in the mid-1970s, have been produced by the dye lasers. Despite many disadvantages of the dye lasers, they have been used to demonstrate a number of exciting results in the variety of scientific research areas, by making it possible to study various processes at a femtosecond time scale. By applying the light source that has the same time scale as molecular vibrations, one could observe...
