Steam-assisted laser ablation metal substrate

Abstract

Excimer laser irradiation has been shown to produce novel effects when used to process metallic surfaces. The effect of a thin film of steam on copper specimens has been investigated, and the results are a vast improvement in comparison to ablation in ambient air or liquid. This can be observed from the acoustic waveform detection during the ablation process. A pulsed excimer laser was used to ablate copper samples with fluence levels ranging from (2.5 J/cm2) to (3.8 J/cm2). The peak-to-peak signals detected in steam are about twice the amplitude of those obtained in air. Ablated specimens have been characterized using alpha-step scans for ablation profiles. Results show that the ablation rates with steam are higher than those done in ambient air or liquid. Discussions will focus on the assessment of factors influencing the production of such features, including laser fluence, laser pulse counts, and also the ambient processing environment.