Experimental Study of Micro-channel in Al2O3by Nanosecond Laser Ablation

In this paper, a nanosecond pulse laser is used to fabricate micro-channels on the Al2O3surface, and the effect of laser parameters (power, scanning speed, and scanning times) on micro-channel characteristics is investigated. Surface morphology, cross-section profile, and chemical composition are characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), confocal laser microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results show that a series of phenomena such as melting, evaporation, flow, and resolidification occur during laser ablation, which lead to micro-channel structure and obvious heat-affected zone (HAZ) generated on the surface. Meanwhile, the laser parameters have significant effects on the micro-channel morphology by changing the surface energy accumulation. XPS results show that oxygen content increased and carbon content decreased after laser ablation, and a new aluminum-containing compound AlN was produced, which leads to the formation of partial cracks on the sample surface.