Light-matter interaction at rough surfaces: A morphological perspective on laser-induced periodic surface structures

We use ab initio electromagnetic simulations to investigate light absorption by rough surfaces in the context of the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures. Our approach involves modeling a rough surface using a statistical description of its continuous height distribution via a corresponding correlation function. We study the influence of incident light polarization and various statistical properties of surface roughness, such as root-mean-square height and correlation length, on the distribution of absorbed laser energy. By analyzing light absorption in different layers of the surface selvedge, we elucidate how different features of surface morphology influence the shape of the resulting periodic surface structures. We show that circularly polarized laser pulses are highly sensitive to initial or progressively developing asymmetries in surface roughness.