06.11.2024 • Contributions

How laser material processing can benefit from OCT technology

A qualitative and quantitative analysis of ultrashort-pulse processing of glass in a technical article – now online and in PhotonicsViews issue 1/2025.

Ultrashort-pulse (USP) laser ablation enables the creation of freeform shapes that are challenging to produce with conventional optics manufacturing techniques. To maintain the industrial standards of many branches, it is crucial to not only consider material removal rates but also the surface quality and subsurface damage (SSD). This study investigates the SSD patterns generated in fused silica and quantifies key parameters such as the SSD depth by applying optical coherence tomography (OCT).

USP laser-processed fused silica sample during measurement with a GAN621...
USP laser-processed fused silica sample during measurement with a GAN621 spectral domain OCT system (Source: EAH Jena)
Photograph of a sample after laser ablation. White arrows indicate areas of...
Photograph of a sample after laser ablation. White arrows indicate areas of inhomogeneous processing results and only partial ablation on the substrate surface. Orange dashed boxes indicate alterations in ablation patterns during a reproducibility study (Source: EAH Jena)
Influence of an aligned (a, c, e, g) and perpendicular (b, d, f, h) scan...
Influence of an aligned (a, c, e, g) and perpendicular (b, d, f, h) scan direction relative to laser polarization on defect patterns and orientation at laser fluence F_L = 20 J/cm² and pulse overlap PO = 90 %. (c, d) Microscope preview image of OCT measurement area, (e, f) color-coded depth maps with SSD in the range of 0 – 1,300 μm, (g, h) 3D rendering of the acquired OCT data (Source: EAH Jena)

New work from Jena University of Applied Sciences researchers demonstrates the application of OCT technologies for the laser ablation of optically transparent materials. OCT is a powerful tool for 3D visualization as well as for analysis of the process. These insights deepen the understanding of defect formation and can accelerate process optimization. The observations can further help to find the causes of different morphologies. Future work can benefit from a stronger correlation of other moni­toring methods as well as simulative approaches.

Read the full article now online and in the upcoming PhotonicsViews issue 1/2025, out January 14, 2025:

Reference: Michael Seiler, Samson Frank, Dennis Thelemann, Oliver Elies, Pouria Teymori, and Jens Bliedtner (all: Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences): How laser material processing can benefit from OCT technology – A qualitative and quantitative analysis of ultrashort-pulse processing of glass, PhotonicsViews 22(1), in preparation, first published online: 3 November 2024; DOI: 10.1002/phvs.202400037

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