Loading…

Dynamic features of bubble induced by a nanosecond pulse laser in still and flowing water

•We observe the bubble formation caused by the laser ablation of silicon in water.•Laser ablation using high laser energy and high flow rate introduces large bubbles.•Velocity of particles ejected from the bubble is fast when high flow rate is applied.•Flushing of bubbles and cut debris induced by w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics and laser technology 2018-03, Vol.100, p.230-243
Main Authors: Charee, Wisan, Tangwarodomnukun, Viboon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•We observe the bubble formation caused by the laser ablation of silicon in water.•Laser ablation using high laser energy and high flow rate introduces large bubbles.•Velocity of particles ejected from the bubble is fast when high flow rate is applied.•Flushing of bubbles and cut debris induced by water flow promotes a good cut result. Underwater laser ablation techniques have been developed and employed to synthesis nanoparticles, to texture workpiece surface and to assist the material removal in laser machining process. However, the understanding of laser-material-water interactions, bubble formation and effects of water flow on ablation performance has still been very limited. This paper thus aims at exploring the formation and collapse of bubbles during the laser ablation of silicon in water. The effects of water flow rate on bubble formation and its consequences to the laser disturbance and cut features obtained in silicon were observed by using a high speed camera. A nanosecond pulse laser emitting the laser pulse energy of 0.2–0.5 mJ was employed in the experiment. The results showed that the bubble size was found to increase with the laser pulse energy. The use of high water flow rate can importantly facilitate the ejection of ablated particles from the workpiece surface, hence resulting in less deposition to the work surface and minimizing any disturbance to the laser beam during the ablation in water. Furthermore, a clean micro-groove in silicon wafer can successfully be produced when the process was performed in the high water flow rate condition. The findings of this study could provide an essential guideline for process selection, control and improvement in the laser micro-/submicro-fabrication using the underwater technique.
ISSN:0030-3992
1879-2545
DOI:10.1016/j.optlastec.2017.10.019