CO2 Laser Cutting of Thin Glass Sheet Under Different Ambient Conditions
S. Prakash and C.K. Nirala
This work investigates the CO2 laser cutting of 1 mm thin glass sheets under different ambient conditions. Glass sheets are one of the most favourable material for many microfluidic devices, optical applications, automotive parts, etc. Thermal energy coming out from the CO2 laser beam initiated thermal cracks in the glass. A controlled thermal crack can help in cutting of glass sheets accurately. In this work, CO2 laser processing of glass sheets under different ambient conditions has been performed and compared. Experiments were conducted while keeping the glass sheets in open air and under a water layer of 1 mm with different laser parameters such as laser power, cutting speed and number of passes. Output parameters were evaluated using optical microscopy. Number of crack sites and cut quality were compared in open air and under water CO2 laser processing.
Keywords: CO2 laser, borosilicate glass, sheet, ambient conditions, water, laser operating parameters, thermal cracking, cutting