In this work, a pulsed Nd:YAG laser(out put energy=5J and pulse
duration=300μsec) was used to perform drilling in samples of lead, stainless steel
304, brass, copper and aluminum. Laser irradiation was carried out in both air and
in a suitable chamber of controlled pressure inside. The effect of pressure inside the
chamber on the drilling process was investigated. Then, the chamber was filled with
argon gas to investigate its effect on drilling process where an enhancement in
drilling depth was observed compared to that in case of irradiation in air and
chamber of air pressure. As well, the effect of focus position on the process was
studied with the pressure varying inside the chamber in order to construct a
mathematical model describing such process
A theoretical model is developed to determine time evolution of temperature at the surface of an opaque target placed in air for cases characterized by the formation of laser supported absorption waves (LSAW) plasmas. The model takes into account the power temporal variation throughout an incident laser pulse, (i.e. pulse shape, or simply: pulse profile).
Three proposed profiles are employed and results are compared with the square pulse approximation of a constant power.