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 work piece, causing material to melt and then to vaporise, so that material can be removed layer by layer, according to the depth of photon absorption. Laser ablation, on the other hand, is a non-thermally 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...
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag
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Cui, Z. (2008). Laser Ablation. In: Li, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48998-8_788
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-48998-8_788
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-32468-5
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-48998-8
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