Michael R. Savina

Assistant Chemist

Materials Science Division; Bldg. 200
Argonne National Laboratory
9700 South Cass Ave.
Argonne, IL 60439

phone: 630-252-3514
fax: 630-252-9555
email: msavina@anl.gov

Research Interests

My research revolves around the interactions of lasers with surfaces; both as a means of surface analysis and for the study of large-scale laser ablation and damage mechanisms. Surfaces may respond to laser light in a variety of ways that depend on the optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the surface, and the color, intensity, and duration of the laser light. By understanding the phenomena, we can tailor the interaction to remove only a tiny bit of material for analysis, or ablate away large amounts for surface cleaning. In many cases, laser effects are cumulative, that is each laser pulse actively processes the material so that subsequent pulses encounter a different surface and hence evoke a different response. Understanding these effects is important in controlling ablation phenomena, or in avoiding laser damage to optical materials. Once liberated from a surface, atoms and molecules may be probed by other lasers to produce ions for mass spectrometric analysis. As in the case of laser-surface interactions, the number and character of ions thus produced depends strongly on the atoms or molecules in question, and on the color, intensity and duration of the laser light. As in ablation, understanding the ionization event is key to interpreting the results.

We use these methods for such diverse applications as molecular and elemental surface analysis, the study of laser damage in ultra-pure optical materials, the large-scale ablation of concrete for nuclear decontamination, and studies of the isotope distributions in stardust.

Selected Publications:

• “RIMS Analysis of Stardust -- Trace, Isotopic Analysis of Individual Micro-Sized SiC Grains,” M. J. Pellin, M. R. Savina, and W. F. Calaway Proceedings of Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy 2000/RIS-2000, Knoxville, TN, October 8-13, 2000
• “Barium Isotopes in Single Presolar Grains,” Pellin, M. J., Davis, A. M., Savina, M. R., Kashiv, Y., Clayton, R. N., Lewis, R. S., Amari, S. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXII, 2125-2126.
• “Efficiency of Concrete Removal With a Pulsed Nd:YAG Laser,” Savina, M.R.; Xu, Z.; Wang, Y.; Reed, C.; Pellin, M.J. Journal of Laser Applications, 2000, 12 (5), 200-204.
• "Microscopic Chemical Imaging with Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry," Savina, M.R., Lykke, K.R. Anal. Chem. 1997, 69, 3741-3746.
• "Chemical Imaging of Surfaces with Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry, " Savina; M.R.; Lykke, K.R. Trends Anal. Chem. 1997, 16 (5), 242-252.
• “Surface Analysis of Rubbers and Plastics Using Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry,” Pellin, M. J. and Savina, M. In Exploration of Subsurface Phenomena by particle Scattering, N. Q. Lam, C. A. Melendres, and S. K. Sinha, eds., IASA Press, 2000, 45-60.
• “Pulsed Laser Ablation of Cement and Concrete,” Savina, M.R.; Xu, Z.; Wang, Y.; Leong, K.; Pellin, M.J. Journal of Laser Applications, 1999, 11 (6), 284-287.
• “Single Photon Ionisation of Self Assembled Monolayers,” B. V. King, M. Savina, E. Tripa, W. F. Calaway, I. V. Veryovkin, J. F. Moore, and M. J. Pellin Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Ion Beam Analysis, Cairns, Australia, July 16-20, 2001