Affiliation:
1. Institut für Fertigungstechnik Technische Universität Dresden George-Bähr-Strasse 3c 01069 Dresden Germany
2. Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS Winterbergstrasse 28 01277 Dresden Germany
Abstract
Process monitoring in laser‐based manufacturing has become a forward‐looking strategy for industrial‐scale laser machines to increase process reliability, efficiency, and economic profit. Moreover, monitoring techniques are successfully used in laser surface texturing workstations to improve and guarantee the quality of the produced workpieces by analyzing the resulting surface topography. Herein, dot‐like periodic surface structures are fabricated on stainless steel samples by direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) using a 70 ps‐pulsed laser system at an operating wavelength of 532 nm. A scatterometry‐based measurement device is utilized to indirectly determine the mean depth and spatial period of the produced topography by analyzing the recorded diffraction patterns. As a result, the average depth and the spatial period of the dot‐like structures can be estimated with a relative error below 15% and 2%, respectively. This new process monitoring approach enables a significant improvement in quality assurance in DLIP processing.
Subject
Condensed Matter Physics,General Materials Science