Using a commercial laser system operating at a 532 nm wavelength with 10 ps pulses, experiments were conducted
on polished metal samples to study material removal characteristics from a low number of laser pulse exposures. The
samples were analyzed with a scanning electron microscope and white light interferometer to gather data on surface
deformation and material removal. The effects of energy and various double pulse machining methods were examined.
The results from changing the pulse separation for double pulse drilling are compared to prior work with picosecond and
nanosecond pulse lasers.
Using a picosecond laser system that can operate at 1064, 532, 355, and 266nm wavelengths, experiments were
conducted with polished metal samples to study material removal from a low number of laser pulse exposures. The
samples were analyzed with a scanning electron microscope and white light interferometer to gather data on surface
deformation and material removal. The effects of wavelength, energy and a double pulse exposure method were
examined. Results were compared with simulations that model the material removal rates from ultrashort pulse drilling.
The overview of research conducted in the Pennsylvania State University that target temporal characterization of a pulse produced by the commercial femtosecond laser systems is presented. The effect of nanosecond pedestal component that, according to the experiment and simulation results, contains significant (possibly up to 50 % or higher) fraction of the total pulse energy is discussed. The experimental data on material drilling rates and melting are overviewed supporting results of temporal characterization of laser pulse.
Using a factorial design of experiments approach with ANOVA, laser drilling experiments were performed on the semiconductor mercury-cadmium-telluride (HgCdTe). A commercial CPA femtosecond laser system operating at 775nm was used for the experiments. The test variables include laser parameters such as pulse length, fluence, beam shaping using apertures, assist gas, vacuum, and others. The response variable examined for optimization include hole size, hole depth, and melt effects. The analysis yielded an empirical formula for predicting laser drilling effects.
The results of numerical simulation of laser drilling of aluminum, copper and steel samples using femtosecond and nanosecond pulses are presented. The drilling rates were predicted for a wide range of laser beam irradiance. The theoretical model utilized for the simulation was upgraded to include phase transition at the critical temperature. In the new theoretical approach the latent heat of evaporation was assumed to be temperature dependent, such that in the range below the critical temperature its value is practically constant, decreases rapidly as the temperature approaches the critical temperature and is zero at the temperatures exceeding the critical temperature. The computed drilling rates for 4 ns and 200 fs laser pulses are in agreement with the experimental data. The upgraded model provides explanation to the observed saturation of drilling rate dependence on laser pulse energy. A new method of determining critical temperatures of metals and metallic alloys is proposed.
The results of the interaction of the first harmonic of a 200 femtosecond laser pulse produced by a Ti:Sapphire commercial laser system and the third harmonic of a 40 ns laser pulse produced by a DPSS Nd:YVO4 laser with various materials are reported. The drilling rates were measured as a function of laser pulse energy and material thickness. Differences in material removal rates were observed between the low and high pulse energy. The dependence of the material removal rate on the sample thickness was measured. The observed dependencies of the drilling rate of a femtosecond laser on the laser pulse energy and material thickness are similar to a nanosecond laser drilling. This supports previously suggested hypothesis that a femtosecond laser system produces pulse containing a nanosecond pedestal with estimated energy comparable to the energy of the femtosecond component.
The results of a study of a single 200 femtosecond laser pulse interaction with thick stainless steel and HgCdTe samples are reported. The threshold pulse energies required to produce sample surface melting are measured. The melt dynamics, material removal rate and evolution of surface morphology were observed for different pulse energies and number of laser pulses. It was observed that, similarly to long laser pulse interaction, a layer of melt can be produced at the sample surface. Increase of laser pulse energy results in melt ejection in the radial direction toward the periphery of the interaction zone resembling evaporation recoil melt removal typical for laser interaction in range from nanosecond to cw. The removal of material from stainless steel sample was observed to be highly nonuniform. The columnar structures were observed on the surface of stainless steel samples. The period of these structures is dependent on laser pulse energy and number of pulses. The observed melting threshold is compared with the theoretical prediction obtained using two-temperature model.
The theoretical criterion defining the threshold pulse energy and beam intensity required for melt ejection is proposed. The results of numerical simulation present dependencies of the threshold pulse energy and beam intensity as functions of laser pulse duration and beam radius. The experimental verification of proposed criterion is described and the comparison of theoretical predictions and measurements is presented. The criterion is applied for simulation of laser drilling metal foil with thickness in the range 25 μm - 125 μm using laser beam with 12 μm beam radius and pulse durations 10 ns and 100 ns. The computational results are used to interpret the results of experimental study of laser drilling of 125 μm aluminum foil using a single mode beam of a XeCl laser performed at the Nederlands Centrum voor Laser Research (NCLR) and the University of Twente. Additional results on Nd:YAG spot welds in pure Ni are also presented.
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