Study of the Formation of Zinc Oxide Nanowires on Brass Surface After Pulse-Periodic Laser Treatment

Surface morphology of the selectively oxidized copper-zinc metallic material generated by laser treatment was studied using a scanning electron microscope. It was determined that the intensity of the formation of arrays of zinc oxide nanoobjects in the center is much higher than at the periphery, since the highest temperature during heating was recorded in the central zone. Typical ZnO nanowires, some of which reached lengths exceeding 3 μm, were formed by laser pulsed-periodic irradiation. The number density of nanowires amounted ~10⁷ mm^–2. In addition to nanowires in the region of higher temperatures, the so-called ZnO nanosheets were present on the surface of the samples. Experimental design techniques were developed. It is planned to use the microscopy techniques that are designed to provide an image of the sample surfaces with high spatial resolution, as well as information on the composition, structure and some other properties of the surface and subsurface layers. For the analysis of individual nanowires, the method of atomic force microscopy is better suited, since it is used to determine the surface relief with a resolution from tens of angstroms up to atomic. This method ensures the direct and detailed analysis of the structure of the subsurface layer, as well as the topographic analysis of the samples surface.