Open AccessStructuring materials with nanosecond laser pulses
Author(s) -
Sami T. Hendow,
Sami A. Shakir
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.010188
Subject(s) - materials science , optics , nanosecond , penetration depth , laser , silicon , pulse duration , attenuation coefficient , irradiance , laser ablation , thermal , pulse (music) , fiber laser , optoelectronics , physics , detector , meteorology
Ablation of silicon and metals is investigated using a 1064 nm pulsed fiber laser, with pulse energy up to 0.5 mJ, peak powers up to 10 kW, and pulse widths from 10 to 250 ns. A simple thermal model is employed to explain the dependence of scribe depth and shape on pulse energy or peak power. We demonstrate that pulses of high peak powers have shallow penetration depths, while longer pulses with lower peak powers have a higher material removal rate with deeper scribes. The key parameter that enables such variation of performance with changes in peak pulse power or peak irradiance on the material surface is the nonlinear increase of the absorption coefficient of silicon or metals as its temperature increases.