Gas investigation for laser drilling

Abstract

This article deals with the gas effect on percussion laser drilling in ms pulse duration range. On the one hand, the flow of assistance gas jet is investigated with and without a target using a strioscopy setup and Pitot’s tube. By this way, the position of shock waves in the supersonic jet and near the target surface is revealed. From this characterization, the distance between exit nozzle and target can be optimized to induce higher pressure on surface and protect optics from liquid ejection. On the other hand, metal liquid and vapor jets from irradiated target are observed with a high-speed camera (100 000 Img/sec). Without assistance gas, a surprising result on the video is a shock wave inside the metal vapor jet like a supersonic flow. The assistance gas limits the propagation of the vapor and facilitates the deposition of metallic liquid around the front surface holes.