Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation of Copper in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

A copper target in supercritical CO2 was ablated using nanosecond Nd:YAG laser pulses for a variety of different laser irradiation times, temperatures and pressures. The irradiated copper surface was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and laser microscopy. Experiments were also conducted in atmospheric conditions with air and liquid hexane to evaluate the environmental dependence of ablation. The results demonstrated that laser ablation of a metal target in high pressure was affected by the pressure and the surrounding environment. An ablation crater with a depth of 6.9 µm was produced by ablating at a temperature of 40 °C, a pressure of 25 MPa, and an irradiation time of 500 s.