The Effect of Laser Power and Laser Exposure Time for Cavity Created on Al2O3 Ceramic Surface

Abstract

Al2O3 ceramic materials have many industrial applications, especially because they are wear-resistant. In this study, dimples of different sizes were formed on the surface of ceramic plates with a CO2 laser. The effects of laser power and laser exposure time on the dimensions of the cavity were investigated. For this purpose, laser powers of 40, 52, 65, 78, 91, and 105 W were applied to the ceramic material for 10 seconds. In addition, 80 W laser power was kept constant and the laser beam was sent to the material for 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 seconds. High-resolution images of the resulting cavities were taken with an optical microscope. Using the images, the dimensions of the cavities were measured and the effects of laser power and laser exposure time on the cavity geometry were observed. The effects of both laser power and laser exposure duration on the cavity and Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) regions showed similar characteristics. The size of the cavities and HAZ increased almost linearly as laser power increased. However, when the effect of laser exposure duration was analyzed, the increase in cavity sizes slowed down after the exposure duration exceeded 10 s. When the laser exposure duration exceeded 15 seconds, it was observed that the dimensions of the cavities did not change.