Effect of the scanning speed on the microgroove formation regime in nanosecond-pulsed laser scanning ablation of cermet

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As the field of biomedicine continues to grow, so will the need for the quick and efficient manufacture of high-quality micro-textures, such as microfluidic systems, for biomedical functions. The utilization of a nanosecond-pulsed laser enables the realization of an efficient ablation rate in the preparation of a microscaled texture for biomedicine applications. To obtain high-quality ablated features, it is necessary to understand the interaction regime between the pulse laser and cermet. In this work, the effects of the scanning speed on formation mechanisms of microgrooves in pulse laser scanning ablation of cermet are investigated. The relative ablation processes in terms of the particle ejection and the morphology of the ablation traces under various scanning speeds are characterized. In addition, pump-probe shadowgraph imaging is used to observe the ablation dynamics and laser-plume interaction. The results demonstrate that the plume shielding effect, which stems from the intensive pulse energy overlap in the irradiated region, tends to occur at a low scanning speed and results in an intermittent ablation regime. Moreover, there is a critical scanning speed for overcoming the plume shielding effect when other laser parameters are kept constant. To realize an even and continuous ablation process, a high scanning speed that exceeds this critical value should be applied.