Ultrashort pulse laser welding of alumina ceramic and titanium

Abstract

The direct welding of alumina ceramic and titanium using ultrashort pulse laser was successfully achieved for the first time. Benefitting from the extremely high peak power of ultrashort pulse laser, ceramics can be melted at a very low laser power. The emerging welding method was conducted at room-temperature without the need for preheating. Within the joint, a combination of Ti and Al elements was observed. A newly formed TiO2 phase was identified at the Al2O3/welding seam interface. Under the optimal welding parameters (welding speed: 0.8mm/s, laser power: 19.52W), the joint achieved a maximum four-point bending strength of approximately 134.9MPa. This study proposed a new methodology for butt welding of ceramics and metals and shows a much higher efficiency than the commonly used ceramic-metal joining approaches such as brazing and diffusion bonding.