Femtosecond laser ablation of brass in air and liquid media

Journal Article · Fri Jun 07 04:00:00 EDT 2013 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4808455· OSTI ID:22162986

Shaheen, M. E. ^[1]; Gagnon, J. E.; Fryer, B. J. ^[1]

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1. Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER), University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4 (Canada)

Laser ablation of brass in air, water, and ethanol was investigated using a femtosecond laser system operating at a wavelength of 785 nm and a pulse width less than 130 fs. Scanning electron and optical microscopy were used to study the efficiency and quality of laser ablation in the three ablation media at two different ablation modes. With a liquid layer thickness of 3 mm above the target, ablation rate was found to be higher in water and ethanol than in air. Ablation under water and ethanol showed cleaner surfaces and less debris re-deposition compared to ablation in air. In addition to spherical particles that are normally formed from re-solidified molten material, micro-scale particles with varying morphologies were observed scattered in the ablated structures (craters and grooves) when ablation was conducted under water. The presence of such particles indicates the presence of a non-thermal ablation mechanism that becomes more apparent when ablation is conducted under water.

• OSTI ID: 22162986
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 113; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ABLATION
AIR
BRASS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DEPOSITION
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRON SCANNING
ETHANOL
LASER RADIATION
LAYERS
OPTICAL MICROSCOPY
PARTICLES
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SURFACES
THICKNESS
WATER
WAVELENGTHS