Picosecond pulsed underwater laser ablation of silicon and stainless steel: Comparing crater analysis methods and analysing dependence of crater characteristics on water layer thickness

S Van Der Linden,R Hagmeijer,G.R.B.E Römer

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.148005

S Van Der Linden, R Hagmeijer + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.148005

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Journal: Applied Surface Science	Publication Date: Nov 2, 2020
Citations: 8	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Twente

Abstract

Liquid layer thickness dependence of 515 nm, 7 picosecond pulsed laser ablation of stainless steel 304 and silicon is analyzed. Ablated crater volume and diameter are compared to ablated craters in ambient air by means of a novel, objective numerical procedure. While silicon ablation under a water layer is found to be more efficient in terms of removed material volume per pulse than ablation in ambient air, an opposite trend is found for stainless steel 304. For both materials, the ablation efficiently drops when the liquid layer thickness is decreased to 1 milimeter. A probable reason for the ablation efficiency drop is persistent bubble formation.

Highlights

Ultra short pulsed under liquid laser ablation is a field of science which is actively studied in the context of eye surgery [1], nano particle production [2] and surface texturing [3]
The cause for this ablation efficiency increase in the case of nanosecond pulsed laser micro machining of silicon was attributed to an increase of plasma density created during the ablation process and the generation of a shockwave due to cavitation bubble formation [8]
In the context of nanoparticle generation, work has been performed on the analysis of the cavitation bubble formed in under liquid pulsed laser ablation

Summary

Introduction

Ultra short pulsed under liquid laser ablation is a field of science which is actively studied in the context of eye surgery [1], nano particle production [2] and surface texturing [3]. A similar trend has been observed for nanosecond pulsed ablation of silicon [5,6] and aluminum [7]. The cause for this ablation efficiency increase in the case of nanosecond pulsed laser micro machining of silicon was attributed to an increase of plasma density created during the ablation process and the generation of a shockwave due to cavitation bubble formation [8]. The effect of liquid layer height on post-ablation crater depth has been identified for nanosecond pulsed ablation of silicon [18] as well as for aluminum [19]

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