Removal of SiC at atomic and close-to-atomic scale by nanosecond ultraviolet laser

•The removal of single atomic layer is obtained.•Thermal effect dominates the nanosecond ultraviolet laser-material interaction at atomic and close-to-atomic scale.•Thermal oxidation affects the surface modification at sub-nanometric scale. This paper presents an exploration on the material removal of SiC at atomic and close-to-atomic scale under ambient condition by nanosecond ultraviolet laser. The corresponding mechanisms are investigated by heat conduction model, reactive molecular dynamics simulation and single shot irradiation experiments. The threshold fluence of 2.52 J/cm2 is obtained from experimental results, and distinctive material behaviors including modification and atomic layer exfoliation at near-threshold fluence are investigated using atom force microscopy. The results show that modification in the chemical composition varies with the depth due to the change in oxygen content. In addition, both the surface modification and material removal can take place at the scale of single atomic layer, which implies a promising manufacturing approach to achieve ultimate precision for a material.