Parametric effects on femtosecond laser ablation of Al2O3 ceramics

Abstract This paper investigates the effects of parameters on femtosecond laser ablation of Al2O3 ceramics. Ceramic alumina (Al2O3) is an important substrate used in hybrid circuits. Generally it is a difficult-to-cut material by conventional drilling and cutting procedures. Laser is suitable for precise form processing on hard or brittle ceramic materials, and with the increasing availability of femtosecond pulse lasers, the interest in using femtosecond laser ablation to produce precise, well-defined micrometer-sized structures in the ceramic materials is increasing. The laser parameters and material properties play an important role in the quality and efficiency of ceramics processing. This work develops a model to investigate parametric effects on femtosecond laser ablation of Al2O3 ceramics. The ablation depth and squared crater diameter per pulse predicted by this study are in agreement with the available experimental data. The effects of laser parameters and material properties on femtosecond laser ablation of Al2O3 ceramics are also discussed.