Laser Coloring of Stainless Steel

It is well known that different combinations of laser parameters can produce the same color on the surface of stainless steel. Therefore, a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) fiber laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and maximum output power of 20 W was selected for experiments in this study to explore the qualitative relationship between parameters and color. The color and visible spectrum of color samples were determined and analyzed using a spectrophotometer. The oxide film thickness and surface morphology of the color samples were measured using a scanning electron microscope. The results show that the laser scanning speed, laser repetition rate, and laser power are proportional to change simultaneously, indicating that similar color and oxide films can be formed on stainless steel surfaces. This study is valuable in guiding the practical application of laser color marking.