Synonyms
Laser machining
Definition
Laser ablation is one of the laser machining processes in which materials are removed in vapor or plasma form directly from the solid state by irradiation of an intense pulsed laser beam.
Overview
Laser machining is a very mature technology. There is a long history of using lasers for cutting, slicing, drilling, marking, welding, and surface modification in mechanical and electronic industries. Conventional laser machining is a thermally based process, i.e., a laser beam of high energy density generates highly localized heating on a workpiece, causing material to melt and then to vaporize so that material can be removed layer by layer, according to the depth of photon absorption. Laser ablation, on the other hand, is a nonthermally based process. Laser ablation of metallic materials, whether it is a thermal process or an ablation process, primarily depends on the duration of the laser pulse compared to heat diffusion time. This is not an abrupt but a...
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References
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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Cui, Z. (2015). Laser Ablation. In: Li, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5491-5_788
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5491-5_788
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