Magnetic Assisted Laser Micromachining for Highly Reflective Metals

In this paper, we report the results of laser machining on highly reflective materials, such as Al6061, with an assisting magnetic field. Both static and dynamic magnetic fields are set so as to examine their effect on both the laser machining efficiency and the inlet diameter. During the laser machining, the Lorentz force generated by the assisting magnetic field affects the laser-induced plasma and results in enhanced performance of the laser machining. With a proper arrangement of the static magnetic field, the machining depth can be increased by 266%, and the inlet diameter can be reduced by 42%. With a rotational dynamic magnetic field, both the roundness of the inlet and the HAZ can be improved.