Parametric studies on the nanosecond laser micromachining of the materials

In this paper the results of an experimental studies on nanosecond laser micromachining of selected materials are presented. Tested materials were thin plates made of aluminium, silicon, stainless steel (AISI 304) and copper. Micromachining of those materials was carried out using a solid state laser with second harmonic generation lambda = 532 nm and a pulse width of tau = 45 ns. The effect of laser drilling using single laser pulse and a burst of laser pulses, as well as laser cutting was studied. The influence of laser fluence on the diameter and morphology of a post ablation holes drilled with a single laser pulse was investigated. The ablation fluence threshold (F-th) of tested materials was experimentally determined. Also the drilling rate (average depth per single laser pulse) of holes drilled with a burst of laser pulses was determined for all tested materials. The studies of laser cutting process revealed that a groove depth increases with increasing average laser power and decreasing cutting speed. It was also found that depth of the laser cut grooves is a linear function of number of repetition of a cut. The quantitative influence of those parameters on the groove depth was investigated.