Ultrafast laser ablation of transparent materials

Abstract

The present work investigates the influence of the pulse duration and the temporal spacing between pulses on the ablation of aluminosilicate glass by comparing the results obtained with pulse durations of 0.4 ps and 6 ps. We found that surface modifications occur already at fluences below the single pulse ablation threshold and that laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) emerge as a result of those surface modifications. For 0.4 ps the ablation threshold fluences is lower than for 6 ps. Scanning electron micrographs of LIPSS generated with 0.4 ps exhibit a more periodic and less coarse structure as compared to structures generated with 6 ps. Furthermore we report on the influence of temporal spacing between the pulses on the occurrence of LIPSS and the impact on the quality of the cutting edge. Keywords: LIPSS,