The processes, induced by local action of the IR femtosecond laser pulse ($\lambda =1.2\mathrm{\mu m}$, $\tau =250\mathrm{fs}$) in the bulk of silicon monocrystal, are studied. Infrared femtosecond interferometry was for the first time applied for visualization of beam propagation inside opaque materials. Dependences of laser-induced variation of material polarizability on pulse energy were obtained and essential wave-packet spreading in space was revealed. This leads to huge delocalization of light—scattering outside the beam caustic exceeds 99% of pulse energy. This effect results in extremely high optical damage threshold of crystalline silicon bulk—irreversible changes in material structure and optical properties were not observed for pulse energy up to 90 μJ. The role of beam Kerr self-focusing and defocusing by an electron-hole plasma inside c:Si is discussed.

The action of microsecond laser pulses with a wavelength of 1064 nm on dental tissues (enamel and dentin) and various dental materials used for tooth replacement and filling (ceramics, metal alloys, and composites) is studied. It is demonstrated that the ablation thresholds of all of the dental materials are significantly lower than the threshold laser fluences for the dental tissue (E _thr = 200–300 J/cm²). At the laser fluences that do not allow ablation and damage of the dental tissues, the dental materials are effectively removed at a rate of no greater than 40 μm per pulse. It is shown that the laser ablation of the materials under study involves two processes (evaporation and volume explosion) depending on the optical density. The results obtained indicate that the laser radiation with a wavelength of 1064 nm and the microsecond pulse duration is promising for dental applications, since it allows effective cleaning of the tooth surface from various dental materials in the absence of the damages of dental tissues.

The use of the ultrafast pulse is the current trend in laser processing many materials, including diamonds. Recently, the orientation of the irradiated crystal face was shown to play a crucial role in the diamond to graphite transition process. Here, we develop this approach and explore the nanostructure of the sp² phase, and the structural perfection of the graphite produced. The single pulse of the third harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser (100 fs, 266 nm) was used to study the process of producing highly oriented graphite (HOG) layers on the (111) surface of a diamond monocrystal. The laser fluence dependence on ablated crater depth was analyzed, and three different regimes of laser-induced diamond graphitization are discussed, namely: nonablative graphitization, customary ablative graphitization, and bulk graphitization. The structure of the graphitized material was investigated by confocal Raman spectroscopy. A clear correlation was found between laser ablation regimes and sp² phase structure. The main types of structural defects that disrupt the HOG formation both at low and high laser fluencies were determined by Raman spectroscopy. The patterns revealed give optimal laser fluence for the production of perfect graphite spots on the diamond surface.

The basic mechanisms of laser interaction with synthetic diamond are reviewed. The characteristics of the main regimes of diamond surface etching are considered. In addition to the well-known graphitization and ablation processes, nanoablation and accumulative graphitization, which have attracted relatively recent attention, are described in detail. The focus is on femtosecond (fs) laser exposure, which allows for the formation of a dense cold electron–hole plasma in the focal zone and minimal overheating in the surrounding area. This potentially opens the way to the development of unique laser-based technologies that combine physical and chemical processes for precise surface treatment and functionalization. The physical limitations that determine how precisely the diamond surface can be treated by short-pulsed laser radiation and possible ways to overcome them with the ultimate goal of removing ultrathin layers of the material are discussed. Special attention is paid to the novel possibility of inducing the local formation of point active defects—nitrogen vacancy (NV) complexes in the laser-irradiated zone. Such defects have been at the forefront of solid-state physics for the past thirty years due to continuous attempts to exploit their unique properties in quantum optics, quantum computing, magnetometry, probing, and other fields. Both regimes of NV center formation with and without graphitization of the diamond lattice are considered. Thus, it is shown that intense pulsed laser irradiation is a perfect tool for the processing of synthetic diamonds at the micro-, nano-, and even at the atomic level, which can be well controlled and managed.

To transform a monocrystalline diamond into monocrystalline graphite, the exposure of an ultrafast laser to a (111) diamond face was investigated for the first time. The single pulse of the third harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser (100 fs, 266 nm) was used to produce graphitized inclusions embedded in a (111) diamond substrate. Three different regimes of (111) diamond graphitization are discussed in this paper. Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the graphitized material, which was found to resemble highly oriented graphite at certain laser fluencies. The proposed approach to the problem of perfect local diamond graphitization is an important step toward creating all-carbon composite systems consisting of conductive and dielectric phases.