Examination of Selective Pulsed Laser Micropolishing on Microfabricated Nickel Samples Using Spatial Frequency Analysis
- 24 February 2009
- journal article
- Published by ASME International in Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering
- Vol. 131 (2), 021002
- https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3075874
Abstract
The precision of parts created by microfabrication processes is limited by surface roughness. Therefore, as a means of improving surface roughness, pulsed laser micropolishing on nickel was examined numerically and experimentally. A one-dimensional finite element method model was used to estimate the melt depth and duration for single 50–300 ns laser pulses. The critical frequency was introduced to predict the effectiveness of polishing in the spatial frequency domain. A 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with 300 ns pulses was used to experimentally investigate pulsed laser polishing on microfabricated nickel samples with microscale line features. A microfabricated sample with wide and high lines spaced apart and one with wide and high lines spaced apart were polished with 300 ns long pulses of and fluences, respectively. The critical frequency for these experimental conditions was predicted and compared with the reduction in the average surface roughness measured for samples with two different spatial frequency contents. The average surface roughness of and wavelength line features were reduced from to and from to , respectively. Four regimes of pulsed laser micropolishing are identified as a function of laser fluence for a given pulse width: (1) at low fluences no polishing occurs due to insufficient melting, (2) moderate fluences allow sufficient melt time for surface wave damping and significant smoothing occurs, (3) increasing fluence reduces smoothing, and (4) high fluences cause roughening due to large recoil pressure and ablation. Significant improvements in average surface roughness can be achieved by pulsed laser micropolishing if the dominant frequency content of the original surface features is above the critical spatial frequency for polishing.
Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Binder system for STS 316 nanopowder feedstocks in micro-metal injection moldingJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2007
- Effects of thermal debinding on surface roughness in micro powder injection moldingMaterials Letters, 2007
- Laser polishing of parts built up by selective laser sinteringInternational Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, 2007
- Evaluation of micromilled metal mold masters for the replication of microchip electrophoresis devicesMicrofluidics and Nanofluidics, 2006
- Surface roughness of microstructured component fabricated by μMIMMaterials Science and Engineering: A, 2005
- Microroughness Reduction of Tungsten Films by Laser Polishing Technology with a Line BeamJapanese Journal of Applied Physics, 2004
- Reducing surface roughness of metallic freeform-fabricated parts using non-tactile finishing methodsInternational Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2004
- Nanosecond time-resolved reflectivity determination of the melting of metals upon pulsed laser annealingOptics Communications, 2000
- Modelization of phase changes by fictitious‐heat flowInternational Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 1984
- An efficient algorithm for analysis of nonlinear heat transfer with phase changesInternational Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 1982