A study of balancing the competing effects of ultrashort laser induced plasma for optimal laser machining

Abstract

We report that plasma generated during processing of materials with ultrashort pulse lasers and the associated high intensity optical beam have both favourable and unfavourable impact on the machined surface quality. Intensity of the optical beam propagating through ambient air medium enhanced further by self-focusing is sufficiently high to cause gas breakdown forming air plasma. The generated plasma reduces the effect of self-focusing but also distorts the beam profile. Duration of the pulse being too short for thermal equilibrium to establish, ablation occurs largely by direct removal of the material forming another plasma plume. Normally, the scattering effect of plasma results in distortions of the fabricated features. However, for certain parameter ranges, the competing self-focusing and gas plasma plumes supplemented with the material plasma can combine to cause filamentation, eliminating the distortions. Filament of hot plasma also acts as a well-shaped energy source. In the present study, brass is taken as an example for the investigation. Experiments were conducted to capture the spectrum of the light scattered by plasma using a spectrometer. Analysis was done to estimate the material plasma. Theoretical calculation on the intensity distribution in an optical beam propagating through air was then followed for a range of parameter values taking the self-focusing effect of the medium and the impact of the plasma generated by its breakdown. Approximate values of the machining parameters for clean fabrication are deduced from the calculations, which were used to conduct a laser machining test on brass.