Evaluation of laser-induced thin-layer removal by using shadowgraphy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Shadow photography and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are studied as methods for monitoring the selective removal of thin (i.e., under 100 μm) layers by laser ablation. We used a laser pulse of 5 ns and 16 mJ at 1064 nm to ablate an 18-μm-thin copper layer from the fiberglass substrate. On the basis of shadowgraphs of the laser-induced shock waves, we measured the optodynamic energy-conversion efficiency, defined as the ratio between the mechanical energy of the shock wave and the excitation-pulse energy. Our results show that this efficiency is significantly higher for the laser pulse–copper interaction than for the interaction between the excitation pulse and the substrate. LIBS was simultaneously employed in our experimental setup. The optical emission from the plasma plume was collected by using a spectrograph and recorded with a streak camera. We show that advancing of laser ablation through the copper layer and reaching of the substrate can be estimated by tracking the spectral region between 370 and 500 nm. Therefore, the presented results confirm that LIBS method enables an on-line monitoring needed for selective removal of thin layers by laser.