The role of absorption mechanism on the optimization of processing commercial polymers under high repetition rate femtosecond laser irradiation

Abstract

The response of three of the most used commercial polymers (poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polypropylene (PP)) under irradiation with high repetition rate (1 kHz–1 MHz) femtosecond (450 fs) multi-pulse (N = 10–1500) laser at λ = 343 nm, 515 nm (1.40 J/cm2 for both former wavelengths) and 1030 nm (1.70 J/cm2) is reported, obtaining a study on how the absorption mechanism influences the processing efficiency for these materials. Tunable ablation depth and diameters are accomplished by modifying repetition rates at a constant fluence and number of pulses. The results highlight the role of absorption mechanism, repetition rate ranges and thermal properties of the materials for benefiting ablation efficiency. Furthermore, the use of high repetition rates improves the laser processing, reducing extended thermal effects and increasing ablation uniformity.

Keywords

• femtosecond laser
• ablation
• polymers
• high-frequency
• thermal effects
• absorption mechanism