Experimental findings and 2 dimensional two-temperature model in the multi-pulse ultrafast laser ablation on stainless steel considering the incubation factor

• Published in: Optics and laser technology 2025-01, Vol.180, p.111507, Article 111507
• Main Authors: Omeñaca, Luis, Olaizola, Santiago Miguel, Rodríguez, Ainara, Gomez-Aranzadi, Mikel, Ayerdi, Isabel, Castaño, Enrique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Incubation effect; Multi-pulse ablation; Two-temperature model; Ultrafast laser-metal interaction
• ISSN: 0030-3992
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optlastec.2024.111507

•Key parameters for ultra-fast ablation of stainless steel have been experimentally determined.•The incubation effect enhances ablation at low fluences.•Attenuation effects at fluences above 1.5J/cm2 have been considered.•An improved two temperature model that accounts for both effects has been developed and validated.•This model allows to obtain the optimal parameters for the desired ablating characteristics. The interaction between ultrashort laser pulses and metal targets is of great interest for machining and micro- or nano-processing applications. An experimental study was conducted on 316L stainless steel using ultrashort pulses with a duration of 280fs and a wavelength of 1.032μm. This study covered fluences ranging from 0.2to5J/cm2 and a number of pulses from 1 up to 200. The analysis of the experimental measurements has allowed us to better understand the process of laser-matter interaction and to obtain key parameters such as incubation effect or the change in the dominant ablation mechanism. By utilizing these parameters and thermophysical and optical dependencies for stainless steel, we have developed a 2D, two-temperature model (TTM), that allows precise and reliable determination of both ablation depth and diameter, which helps to reduce the number of necessary tests and avoid material waste.