Underwater and water-assisted laser processing: Part 2—Etching, cutting and rarely used methods

In the second part of the article, the subtractive processes—laser etching and cutting—in the presence of liquid water will be reviewed; but the rarely used methods of water assisted/underwater laser processing, such as welding, silicon wafer breaking, surface modification of polymers, pulsed laser deposition, particle formation and water mask defined microstructures fabrication, will also be described. Etching and cutting under water provide better tolerances and smaller heat-affected zone widths and avoid the re-deposition of debris. Irradiation under water results in increased wetting of fluoropolymers, and laser ablation in water vapor provides deposition of highly crystalline hydroxyapatite coatings. Laser irradiation of solid targets in water has been used to fabricate Ag, Au, Ni, Cu and carbon nanoparticles. The results of an original study on the formation of free-standing high aspect ratio Pb(Zr_xTi_1−x)O₃ microplates fabricated by laser irradiation of Pb(Zr_xTi_1−x)O₃ ceramics in water are also reported. The platelets were up to 60 μm in diameter and 50–160 nm in thickness. The use of neutral liquids other than water and some medical applications of underwater/water-assisted laser light driven processes will also be briefly reviewed.     

Laser processing of silicon at submicron scale using photochromic films

Laser fabrication at submicron scale is experimentally demonstrated with the nonlinear optical switching effect of photochromism. The effect, which is a result of change in the optical properties of the photochromic material between the open-ring and closed-ring isomers during the photoisomerization, effectively reduces the laser beam size. The ultrafast response of the molecular photocyclization and cycloreversion reactions at a time scale of a few picoseconds ensures the instantaneous realization of the effect. Utilizing a photochromic film of cis-1,2-dicyano-1,2-bis(2,4,5-trimethyl-3-thienyl) ethane as the mask layer, laser processing of a silicon wafer demonstrated submicron scale feature size with improved surface quality as compared to the smallest features achievable using direct laser ablation without the photochromic film.     

光谱测量在激光加工在线监测上的应用研究进展

随着现代工业的发展,复杂加工环境和对象、大动态范围、高效率和高精度激光加工需求愈加迫切,在线监测并实时优化激光加工参数是一条重要的解决途径。与此同时,激光与物质相互作用时可产生与加工参数、加工过程和目标特性密切相关的光信号和表面光学特性变化,在线测量光信号光谱可分析加工过程和状态,故光谱测量有望成为一种重要的激光加工在线监测手段。实际上,光谱测量已应用于激光焊接、激光切割和钻孔、激光清洗打磨、微纳结构制备和增材制造等几乎所有激光加工工艺,具有分辨率高和光谱信息丰富等特点。分析和总结了用于激光加工在线监测的光谱测量技术,包括等离子体光谱、反射光光谱和非线性光信号光谱等。基于单脉冲和多脉冲激光加工激发等离子体信号的光谱测量,除实现化学成分定性和定量监测外,还可以根据特征谱线相对强度变化实时调焦,根据等离子体温度监测和调控激光加工过程中与热效应相关的物理过程;作为一种无损伤且工作距离较远的监测方法,反射光光谱监测可通过测量特定波段反射光信号光谱积分功率、特征谱线和波段位置和强度来有效监测材料表面清洁度、损伤、色度和成分变化等;而在特定条件下产生的谐波信号、荧光信号和拉曼信号等非线性光信号,尽管应用场景有限,但提供了一种实现成分、焦距和材料损伤等监测的新方法。进而,展望了光谱测量在激光加工在线监测上应用的未来发展趋势,包括多种光信号的光谱协同监测与光、声、温度及图像等多种信号测量的复合监测。同时,人工智能技术与在线监测和激光加工的深入结合将进一步推动激光加工技术的智能化发展。     

A numerical procedure for estimation of the melt depth in laser material processing

In this study, an algorithm based on conjugate gradient method (CGM) is applied to estimate the unknown time dependent melt depth during laser material processing in liquid phase. The determination of the melt depth is treated as a one-dimensional, transient, inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). It is assumed that no prior information is available for the functional form of the unknown melt depth, but it can be estimated by an inverse analysis with temperature measurements near the heated surface. The algorithm has been applied to aluminum, titanium and fused quartz and accurate melting depth and temperature distributions can also be returned. In addition, this methodology can also be applied to solve other problems such as calculating the cutting forces in nanomachining by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and estimating the heat sources in a X-ray lithographic process.     

Lasers for materials processing: specifications and trends

An overview is given of the types of lasers dominating the field of laser materials processing. The most prominent lasers in this field are the CO₂ and the Nd: YAG laser. The domain of CO₂ lasers is applications which demand high laser powers (up to 30 kW are available at present), whereas the domain of Nd:YAG lasers is micro-machining applications. In the kilowatt range of laser output power, the two types of lasers are in competition. New diffusion-cooled CO₂ laser systems are capable of output laser powers of several kilowatts, with good beam qualities, while still being quite compact. The output power and beam quality of Nd:YAG lasers has been improved in recent years, so that Nd:YAG lasers are now an alternative to CO₂ lasers even in the kilowatt range. This is especially true for applications that demand optical fibre transmission of the laser beam, which is possible with Nd:YAG laser light but not with the longerwavelength light emitted by CO₂ lasers. The main problem in solid-state lasers such as Nd:YAG is the thermal lensing effect and damage due to thermal stresses. In order to reduce thermal loading, cooling has to be enhanced. Several alternative geometries have been proposed to reduce thermal loading and, by this, thermal lensing effects. There are now slab and tube geometries which allow much higher output powers than the conventionally used laser rods. A very new scheme proposes a thin slab whose cooled side is also used as one of the laser mirrors, so that thermal gradients occur mainly in the direction of the beam propagation and not perpendicular to it, as is the case in the other geometries. As well as CO₂ and Nd:YAG lasers, semiconductor laser diodes are very promising for direct use of the emitted light or as pump sources for Nd:YAG and other solid-state lasers. When packaging together thousands of single laser diodes, output powers of several kilowatts can be realized. Major problems are collimation of the highly divergent laser beams and cooling of the laser diode bars.     

Real time NDE of laser shock processing with time-of-flight of laser induced plasma shock wave in air by acoustic emission sensor

Acoustic emission sensor is used to research the time-of-flight of the shock wave induced by laser-plasma in air for real time nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of laser shock processing. The time-of-flight of the shock wave propagating from the source to the sensor declines nonlinearly and similarly at the different distances for different laser energies. The velocity of the shock wave at the distance of 30 mm increases faster than that of the distance of 35 mm. The relationship between the laser energy and the distance is almost linearly when the signal with distortion is measured by acoustic emission sensor. Finally, Taylor solution is used to analyze the experimental results, and the empirical formula between the energy of the shock wave and the laser energy is established, which will provide a theoretical basis for real time NDE of laser shock processing.     

Rare-earth-doped materials for applications in quantum information storage and signal processing

Realization of practical quantum memory and optical signal processing systems critically depends on suitable materials that offer specific combinations of properties. Solid-state materials such as rare-earth ions doped into dielectric crystals are one of the most promising candidates for several quantum information storage protocols, including quantum storage of single photons. This article provides an overview of rare-earth-doped material properties and summarizes some of the most promising materials studied in our laboratory and by other groups for applications in quantum information storage and for ultra-wide bandwidth signal processing. Understanding and controlling spectral diffusion in these materials, which ultimately limits the achievable performance of any quantum memory system, is also briefly reviewed. Applications in quantum information impose stringent requirements on laser phase and frequency stability, and employing a narrow spectral hole in the inhomogeneous absorption profile in these materials as a frequency reference can dramatically improve laser stability. We review our work on laser frequency and phase stabilization and report our recent results on using a narrow spectral hole as a passive dynamic spectral filter for laser phase noise suppression, which can dramatically narrow the laser linewidth with or without the requirement of active feedback.     

A generalized structure based on systemic principles of the characteristic variables of material laser processing

The paper analyses the three main variables categories that are structurally characterizing the material laser processing: the influence factors, the process variables and the objective functions. These variables are divided in subsets determined by the system's structure, operating procedures and objectives of technological transformations.     

Rapid and flexible laser marking and engraving of tilted and curved surfaces

We present a novel method for rapid and flexible laser marking and engraving of tilted, curved and freeform work-piece surfaces. The method is based on integrating a three-dimensional (3D) laser measurement system into a 3D laser marking system. We use the same laser source and optics for measurement and processing with a minimum of additional hardware components. A low power CW laser regime is used to measure the 3D shape of a work-piece surface while a high-peak power-pulsed laser regime is used for processing. The acquired 3D surface data are used to determine the 3D trajectory of the processing beam focus. Neither the 3D shape of the work-piece nor its orientation needs to be known in advance as long as the processed surface lies within the working range of the 3D laser processing system. This eliminates the need for exact work-piece positioning before processing and substantially improves processing flexibility (allowing, e.g. variations in work-piece shape or/and orientation from mark to mark). This paper discusses key issues concerning an implementation of the method and presents typical examples of markings and engravings, which demonstrate the advantages of the method with respect to the existing industrial 2D and 3D laser marking and engraving methods. The method can also be applied to flexible laser structuring and microprocessing of curved surfaces.     

Characterization of laser processing of single‐crystal natural diamonds using micro‐Raman spectroscopic investigations

The application of lasers for processing diamond has revolutionized the diamond industry and its applications in microelectronics, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and microoptoelectromechanical system (MOEMS) technologies. The process quality can be evaluated using spectroscopic techniques. In the present investigation, four different types of Q‐switched solid‐state lasers (with different beam parameters), namely, a lamp‐pumped Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm, a lamp‐pumped Nd:YAG laser operating at second harmonically generated 532 nm, a diode‐pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser operating at 1064 nm and a diode‐pumped Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm, have been employed for the processing of a single‐crystal, gem‐quality, natural diamond. The main objective behind the selection of these lasers with different beam parameters was to study the effect of wavelength, pulse width, pulse energy, peak power and beam quality factor (M² factor) on various aspects of processing (such as microcracking, material loss and cut surface quality) and their relative merits and demerits. The overall weight loss of the diamond and formation of microcracks during processing have been studied for the above four cases. The characteristics of the graphite formed during processing, elemental analysis, surface morphology of the cut surface and process dynamics have been studied using micro‐Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We observed that laser cutting of single‐crystal diamonds used for industrial applications can be accomplished without microcracking or surface distortion using Q‐switched Nd:YAG lasers. This allows direct processing without extensive postgrinding and polishing stages. Very efficient diamond processing is possible using diode‐pumped lasers, which results in the lowest possible breakage rate, good accuracy, good surface finish and low weight loss. From the micro‐Raman and SEM studies, it is concluded that the surface quality obtained is superior when diode‐pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser is used, owing to its extremely high peak power. The maximum graphite content is observed while processing with lamp‐pumped Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm. An overall comparison of all the laser sources leads to the conclusion that diode‐pumped Nd:YAG laser is a superior option for the efficient processing of natural diamond crystals. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical focus control system for laser welding and direct casting

A non-intrusive optical sensor system has been developed for focus control of laser welding. This detects the light generated by the process through the laser delivery optics, and exploits the chromatic aberrations of these optics to detect any laser focal error at the workpiece. This system works for a wide range of materials and welding parameters, and example results are presented. The sensor has also been applied to laser ‘direct casting’, a process in which 3-D structures are built by flowing metal powder into a focused laser beam. In this case, melt pool temperature is also important, and so additional optics are incorporated into the sensor to provide a pyrometric temperature measurement which is used to control the laser power.     

Patterning on single crystalline silicon by laser scanning and alkaline etching

The applicability of laser processing for small-lot micro-electromechanical system devices is discussed in this paper. This simple process could replace conventional complex processes designed with mass production in mind. Ablation, protrusions or surface modification is revealed to occur by argon ion laser scanning into silicon. Which of them occurs depends on the laser power. It is found that the protrusions are covered by a thin layer of oxide; however, oxidation of the modified surface is not established even though some results suggest it. Surface modification is more applicable to surface patterning than coarse protrusion is because the laser-modified surface can be used as a mask in KOH etching to make sharp patterns. The applicability of this method is indicated by demonstrating pattern width control, patterning over a large area and the fabrication of a 16-bit linear scale.     

Comparison of laser Doppler and laser speckle contrast imaging using a concurrent processing system

Full field laser Doppler imaging (LDI) and single exposure laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) are directly compared using a novel instrument which can concurrently image blood flow using both LDI and LSCI signal processing. Incorporating a commercial CMOS camera chip and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) the flow images of LDI and the contrast maps of LSCI are simultaneously processed by utilizing the same detected optical signals. The comparison was carried out by imaging a rotating diffuser. LDI has a linear response to the velocity. In contrast, LSCI is exposure time dependent and does not provide a linear response in the presence of static speckle. It is also demonstrated that the relationship between LDI and LSCI can be related through a power law which depends on the exposure time of LSCI.     

UV laser-induced high resolution cleaving of Si wafers for micro-nano devices and polymeric waveguide characterization

In this work we propose a method for cleaving silicon-based photonic chips by using a laser based micromachining system, consisting of a ND:YVO₄ laser emitting at 355 nm in nanosecond pulse regime and a micropositioning system. The laser makes grooved marks placed at the desired locations and directions where cleaves have to be initiated, and after several processing steps, a crack appears and propagate along the crystallographic planes of the silicon wafer. This allows cleavage of the chips automatically and with high positioning accuracy, and provides polished vertical facets with better quality than the obtained with other cleaving process, which eases the optical characterization of photonic devices.This method has been found to be particularly useful when cleaving small-sized chips, where manual cleaving is hard to perform; and also for polymeric waveguides, whose facets get damaged or even destroyed with polishing or manual cleaving processing. Influence of length of the grooved line and speed of processing is studied for a variety of silicon chips. An application for cleaving and characterizing sol-gel waveguides is presented. The total amount of light coupled is higher than when using any other procedure.     

Ultraviolet laser microstructuring of silicon and the effect of laser pulse duration on the surface morphology

The study of the laser pulse duration effect on the silicon micro-spikes morphology is presented. The microcones were produced by ultraviolet (248 nm) laser irradiation of doped Si wafers in SF₆ environment. The laser pulse duration was adjusted at 450 fs, 5 ps and 15 ns. We have analyzed the statistical nature of the spikes’ morphological characteristics, such as periodicity and apex angle by exploiting image processing techniques, on SEM images of the irradiated samples. The correlation of the quantitative morphological characteristics with the laser parameters (pulse duration, laser fluence and number of pulses) provides new insight on the physical mechanisms, which are involved on the formation of Si microcones.     

激光法红外热像镜组中心偏测量与调校研究

论述了多镜片成像光学镜组中心偏的理论表征 ,以及自准反射旋转法测量中心偏的原理。设计了用于红外光学镜组的中心偏检测系统。系统包括用于 8～ 14 μm红外光学系统中心偏测量的CO2 激光 ;可调焦望远镜 ;采用TGS热释电热像仪与计算机配合的数据读出及处理系统 ;径向跳动≤ 1μm ,轴向晃动≤ 1″的高精密基准轴工作台。系统测量中心偏精度为 :角度≤ 2″ ,线度≤ 0 .0 2mm。给出了中心偏数据处理程序。系统也可用于在线装校 ,更换光源 (用He Ne激光代替CO2 激光 )系统可用于 3～ 5 μm红外光学系统的测量。进一步改进并利用激光的相干特性 ,系统可实现中心偏测量精度≤ 1μm。     

Effects of processing parameters on structure of Ni-based WC composite coatings during laser induction hybrid rapid cladding

The relationships between the processing parameters (i.e. laser specific energy, powder density, preheated temperature of substrate and types of substrate) and the structure characteristics of Ni-based WC composite coatings during laser induction hybrid rapid cladding (LIHRC) were investigated systematically. The results show that laser specific energy, cladding height and contact angle have a linear relation with powder density, as can provide the predictions of laser processing parameters according to the geometrical characteristics of a single laser track (i.e. cladding height, cladding width). Moreover, dilution of composite coating increases with the increasing of laser specific energy and the preheated temperature of substrate, while reduces with the increasing of powder density. The types of substrate also have an important effect on dilution of composite coating, as has a strong dependence on the thermophysical properties of substrate (i.e. melting point, resistivity and permeability).