Femtosecond-Laser Ablation of Monolayer Tungsten Diselenide (WSe2) on Sapphire

Near-IR femtosecond laser ablation of monolayer tungsten diselenide WSe
₂
on sapphire is demonstrated. The ablation threshold is found low (below 10 mJ/cm
²
), due to its low dimensionality and weak coupling to substrates. Substrate-dependent ablation threshold is predicted and will be discussed.