Laser-assisted nanostructuring of Tungsten in liquid environment

Formation of surface nanostructures on Tungsten target immersed into liquids is experimentally studied under its exposure to femtosecond laser pulses with different durations. In particular, nanotexturing of Tungsten upon its exposure to delayed femtosecond pulses is investigated. Two different types of morphological features are observed, namely periodic ripples and nanostructures. Field emission scanning electron microscopy shows that the density of nanostructures as well as their morphology depends on the time delay between pulses and reaches its maximum at 1 ps delay. Thermionic emission of nano-structured W cathode is investigated. The work function of nanostructured W surface is measured to be 0.3 eV lower than that of the pristine surface.