TY - JOUR
T1 - High contrast laser marking of alumina
AU - Penide, J.
AU - Quintero, F.
AU - Riveiro, A.
AU - Fernández, A.
AU - Del Val, J.
AU - Comesaña, R.
AU - Lusquiños, F.
AU - Pou, J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/5/1
Y1 - 2015/5/1
N2 - Alumina serves as raw material for a broad range of advanced ceramic products. These elements should usually be identified by some characters or symbols printed directly on them. In this sense, laser marking is an efficient, reliable and widely implemented process in industry. However, laser marking of alumina still leads to poor results since the process is not able to produce a dark mark, yielding bad contrast. In this paper, we present an experimental study on the process of marking alumina by three different lasers working in two wavelengths: 1064 nm (Near-infrared) and 532 nm (visible, green radiation). A colorimetric analysis has been carried out in order to compare the resulting marks and its contrast. The most suitable laser operating conditions were also defined and are reported here. Moreover, the physical process of marking by NIR lasers is discussed in detail. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy were also employed to analyze the results. Finally, we propose an explanation for the differences of the coloration induced under different atmospheres and laser parameters. We concluded that the atmosphere is the key parameter, being the inert one the best choice to produce the darkest marks.
AB - Alumina serves as raw material for a broad range of advanced ceramic products. These elements should usually be identified by some characters or symbols printed directly on them. In this sense, laser marking is an efficient, reliable and widely implemented process in industry. However, laser marking of alumina still leads to poor results since the process is not able to produce a dark mark, yielding bad contrast. In this paper, we present an experimental study on the process of marking alumina by three different lasers working in two wavelengths: 1064 nm (Near-infrared) and 532 nm (visible, green radiation). A colorimetric analysis has been carried out in order to compare the resulting marks and its contrast. The most suitable laser operating conditions were also defined and are reported here. Moreover, the physical process of marking by NIR lasers is discussed in detail. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy were also employed to analyze the results. Finally, we propose an explanation for the differences of the coloration induced under different atmospheres and laser parameters. We concluded that the atmosphere is the key parameter, being the inert one the best choice to produce the darkest marks.
KW - Alumina
KW - Contrast
KW - Fiber laser
KW - Laser marking
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84925445319&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apsusc.2014.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.apsusc.2014.10.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84925445319
SN - 0169-4332
VL - 336
SP - 118
EP - 128
JO - Applied Surface Science
JF - Applied Surface Science
ER -