Precise micromachining of materials using femtosecond laser pulses

Abstract

We present the results of the experimental parametric study on efficiency, accuracy and quality of femtosecond laser micromachining of different materials. The laser micromachining process was performed with a solid-state Yb:KYW laser. The laser generates 500 fs pulses of three different wavelengths, repetition rate from 100 to 900 kHz and output power up to 50 W. This allows to perform a complex research for a wide range of parameters and materials. Laser micromachining is a process based on a laser ablation phenomenon, i.e. total evaporation of material from the target surface during laser irradiation. It is the most precise method of material removal. Applying a femtosecond laser in the process, allows the use of ultra short pulses, with a duration of 10^-15 seconds, while maintaining a high laser power. The concentration of energy within a single pulse is sufficiently high to cause the detachment of particles from the irradiated target without any thermal interactions with the surrounding material. Therefore, the removal of the material occurs only in the laser focus. This allows to avoid most of the unwanted effects of the heat affected zone (HAZ). It has been established, that the quality of laser ablation process using femtosecond pulses is much higher than while using the long pulsed lasers (i.e. nanosecond). The use of femtosecond laser pulses creates therefore an attractive opportunity for high quality micromachining of many groups of materials.