Thermophysical Modelling and Simulation of the Laser Processing of Polycarbonate (PC)
S. S. Singh, A. Khare and Shrikrishna N. Joshi
Nanosecond Nd:YAG laser ablation of polycarbonate (PC) is difficult with the laser in visible spectrum as it is highly transparent at this range. Doping of PC with light absorbing particles and use of laser source with high repetition rate are commonly practice method for laser processing of transparent material. Alternatively, laser-induced incubation can be another technique for laser processing of transparent PC. This paper presents the findings of the numerical investigation on photothermal effect of Q-switched 2nd harmonic Nd:YAG with nanosecond single pulse laser irradiation of undoped PC using finite element method (FEM). The work attempt on gaining fundamental insight into the effect of nanosecond Nd:YAG laser irradiation of transparent PC. The findings suggest that there is no presence of thermal accumulation in between the laser pulses during nanosecond pulse laser irradiation of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser on transparent PC. This thermal effect can provide a possible path in laser induced thermal processing of PC with a laser in the visible spectrum.
Keywords: Nd:YAG laser, polycarbonate (PC), laser processing, transparent, thermal accumulation, finite element method (FEM)