Nd:YAG Laser Beam-Material Interactions for Marking and Engraving: Application to Alumina and Granite
F. Breaban, J.F. Coutouly, F. Braud and P. Deprez
Marking and engraving of materials using laser is an efficient process giving generally long-durability results. These results (quantitatively and qualitatively), however, strongly depend on some properties of the treated material (macroscopic structure, hardness, density, electrical, thermal and optical properties). Experiments clearly show that poor-homogeneous results may be encountered with materials such as granite. We will try to determine the cause of this problem. Marking granite by high-power laser beam has been little studied. This fact prompted us to focus our attention on this material. Our study was conducted with a Nd:YAG laser source, this contribution will be based on a comparison between laser marking of a homogeneous material (alumina) and granite.
Keywords: Nd:YAG laser, alumina, granite, marking, engraving, laser beam, interaction