Mingying Sun

Numerical analysis of laser ablation and damage in glass with multiple picosecond laser pulses

This study presents a novel numerical model for laser ablation and laser damage in glass including beam propagation and nonlinear absorption of multiple incident ultrashort laser pulses. The laser ablation and damage in the glass cutting process with a picosecond pulsed laser was studied. The numerical results were in good agreement with our experimental observations, thereby revealing the damage mechanism induced by laser ablation. Beam propagation effects such as interference, diffraction and refraction, play a major role in the evolution of the crater structure and the damage region. There are three different damage regions, a thin layer and two different kinds of spikes. Moreover, the electronic damage mechanism was verified and distinguished from heat modification using the experimental results with different pulse spatial overlaps.

Role of thermal ionization in internal modification of bulk borosilicate glass with picosecond laser pulses at high repetition rates

We study the roles of thermal ionization and electronic damage in the internal modification of bulk borosilicate glass by high repetition rate picosecond laser pulses. Laser-induced plasma generation, nonlinear energy deposition and steady temperature distribution are numerically analyzed. The simulated modified regions show good agreement with the experimental results, thereby revealing the roles of thermal damage and electronic damage in the internal modification. While the elliptical outer structure is recognized as the molten region, we found that the teardrop-shaped inner structure is the damaged zone caused by high-density free-electrons. In the formation of the inner structure, cascade ionization is seeded by thermal ionization instead of multi-photon ionization and dramatically increases the free-electron density to the damage threshold. The contour of the inner structure is found to be corresponding to a characteristic isotherm of around 3000 ~4000 °C.

Laser ablation mechanism of transparent dielectrics with picosecond laser pulses

Thin glass sheets (thickness <1 mm) have a great potential in OLED and LCD displays. While the conventional manufacturing methods, such as mechanical scribing and breaking, result in poor edge strength, ultra-short-pulsed laser processing could be a promising solution, offering high-quality cutting edges. However laser precision glass cutting suffers from unwanted material modification and even severe damage (e.g. cracks and chipping). Therefore it is essential to have a deep understanding of the ultra-short-pulsed laser ablation mechanism of transparent dielectrics in order to remedy those drawbacks. In this work, the ablation mechanism of transparent dielectrics irradiated by picosecond laser pulses has been studied. Ultrafast dynamics of free-electrons is analyzed using a rate equation for free-electron density including multi-photon ionization, avalanche ionization and loss terms. Two maps of free-electron density in parameter space are given to discuss the dependence of ablation threshold intensity/fluence on pulse duration. The laser ablation model describing laser beam propagation and energy deposition in transparent dielectrics is presented. Based on our model, simulations and experiments have been performed to study the ablation dynamics. Both simulation and experimental results show good agreement, offering great potential for optimization of laser processing in transparent dielectrics. The effects of recombination coefficient and electron-collision time on our model are investigated.

Mitigation of beam sampling grating damage induced by upstream flaws in the final optics assembly

Abstract. The high fluence performance of high-power laser systems is set by optical damage, especially in the final optics assembly (FOA). The flaws on the frequency converter surface can cause optical intensity intensification and, therefore, damage the downstream optical elements, such as the beam sampling grating (BSG), which is an important component in the FOA. Mitigation of BSG damage caused by flaws is discussed. Physical models are established to simulate the optical field enhancement on BSG modulated by the upstream flaw, considering both the linear and nonlinear propagation effects. Numerical calculations suggest that it is important to place the BSG in a properly selected position to mitigate the laser-induced damage. Furthermore, strict controls of flaw size, modulation depth, distance between frequency converter and focusing lens, and the thickness of the focusing lens are also significant to mitigate the BSG damage. The results obtained could also give some suggestions for damage mitigation of optical components and the layout design of the final optics assembly.

Modeling of ablation threshold dependence on pulse duration for dielectrics with ultrashort pulsed laser

Abstract. We present a numerical model of plasma formation in ultrafast laser ablation on the dielectrics surface. Ablation threshold dependence on pulse duration is predicted with the model and the numerical results for water agrees well with the experimental data for pulse duration from 140 fs to 10 ps. Influences of parameters and approximations of photo- and avalanche-ionization on the ablation threshold prediction are analyzed in detail for various pulse lengths. The calculated ablation threshold is strongly dependent on electron collision time for all the pulse durations. The complete photoionization model is preferred for pulses shorter than 1 ps rather than the multiphoton ionization approximations. The transition time of inverse bremsstrahlung absorption needs to be considered when pulses are shorter than 5 ps and it can also ensure the avalanche ionization (AI) coefficient consistent with that in multiple rate equations (MREs) for pulses shorter than 300 fs. The threshold electron density for AI is only crucial for longer pulses. It is reasonable to ignore the recombination loss for pulses shorter than 100 fs. In addition to thermal transport and hydrodynamics, neglecting the threshold density for AI and recombination could also contribute to the disagreements between the numerical and the experimental results for longer pulses.

Diagnostic and simulation of ps-laser glass cutting

While the cutting of thin glass becomes more and more interesting especially for display applications, direct glass ablation with ps-lasers is a promising technology but not completely understood with respect to ablation and damage mechanisms.The principal goal of this work is to generate a basic understanding of the ablation process by a combination of simulation4, experimental diagnostics1 and process development2,3.In this publication the free electron dynamics is discussed, a numerical model is implemented including beam propagation and nonlinear absorption. Finally the results from simulation and experiment are compared.Major findings achieved with the numerical model so far are: The critical electron density is adequate / complex enough as a criterion for material removal. For small pulse durations ( 10 ps) ablation criterion is intensity based. The damage mechanism is revealed/identified and qualitatively in good comparison with the experiment. Beam propagation effects like interference play a major role in the damage mechanisms.While the cutting of thin glass becomes more and more interesting especially for display applications, direct glass ablation with ps-lasers is a promising technology but not completely understood with respect to ablation and damage mechanisms.The principal goal of this work is to generate a basic understanding of the ablation process by a combination of simulation4, experimental diagnostics1 and process development2,3.In this publication the free electron dynamics is discussed, a numerical model is implemented including beam propagation and nonlinear absorption. Finally the results from simulation and experiment are compared.Major findings achieved with the numerical model so far are: The critical electron density is adequate / complex enough as a criterion for material removal. For small pulse durations ( 10 ps) ablation criterion is intensity based. The damage mechanism is revealed/identified and qualitatively in good comparison wit...

High power glass laser research progresses in NLHPLP

A new high power laser facility with 8 beams and maximum output energy of one beam 5kJ/3.4ns/3ω has been performed and operated since 2015. Combined together the existing facilities have constructed a multifunction experimental platform including multi-pulse width of ns, ps and fs and active probing beam, which is an effective tool for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) and High Energy Density (HED) researches. In addition another peculiar high power laser prototype pushes 1ω maximum output energy to 16kJ in 5ns and 17.5kJ in 20ns in flat-in-time pulse, this system is based on large aperture four-pass main amplifier architecture with 310mm×310mm output beam aperture. Meanwhile the near field and far field have good quality spanning large energy scope by use of a wide range of technologies, such as reasonable overall design technique, the integrated front end, cleanness class control, nonlinear laser propagation control, wave-front adaptive optics and precision measurement. Based on this excellent backup, 3ω damage research project is planning to be implemented. To realize the above aims, the beam expanding scheme in final transport spatial filter could be adopted considering tradeoff between the efficient utilization of 1ω output and 3ω damage threshold. Besides for deeply dissecting conversion process for beam characteristic influence of 1ω beam, WCI (Wave-front Code Image) instrument with refined structure would be used to measure optical field with simultaneous high precision amplitude and phase information, and what’s more WCI can measure the 1ω, 2ω and 3ω optical field in the same time at same position, so we can analyze the 3ω beam quality evolution systematically, and ultimately to improve the 3ω limited output. In a word, we need pay attention to some aspects contents with emphasis for future huger laser facility development. The first is to focus the new technology application. The second is to solve the matching problem between 1ω beam and the 3ω beam. The last is to build the whole effective design in order to improve efficiency and cost performance.

Ultrafast reflection and secondary ablation in laser processing of transparent dielectrics with ultrashort pulses

Abstract. Ultrafast reflection and secondary ablation have been theoretically investigated with a Fresnel-Drude model in laser processing of transparent dielectrics with picosecond pulsed laser. The time-dependent refractive index has a crucial effect on the cascade ionization rate and, thereby, on the plasma generation. The relative roles of the plasma gas and the incident angle in the reflection are discussed in the case of the oblique incidence. The angular dependence of the reflectivity on the laser-excited surface for s- and p-polarization is significantly different from the usual Fresnel reflectivity curve in the low-fluence limit. A road map to the secondary ablation induced by the reflected pulse is obtained on the angles of the first and second incidence. It indicates that the laser-induced plasma plays a major role in the secondary ablation, which could overcome the saturation of the ablation crater depth or generate microcracks underneath the crater wall.

A developmental perspective on high power laser facility technology for ICF

The latest progress on high power laser facilities in NLHPLP was reported. Based on a high power laser prototype, damage behavior of 3ω optics was experimentally tested, and the key influencing factors contributed to laser-induced damage in optics were deeply analyzed. The latest experimental results of advanced precision measurement for optical quality applied in the high power laser facility were introduced. At last, based on the accumulated works of 3ω elements damage behavior status in our laboratory, beam expanding scheme was presented to increase the total maximum output 3ω energy properly and decrease the laser induced damage risking of ω optics simultaneously.

Shape dependence of downstream light intensification caused by flaws

In high power laser system, the upstream flaw could induce light intensification in the downstream, thus damaging the optical component. In most of the research, the shape of the defect model is ideal, for example, Gaussian shape. However, the defect in the real system is non-ideal with different shapes. In this paper, the light intensification effect caused by defects with different shapes are compared by numerical simulation. Results show the shape dependence of downstream light intensification caused by flaws. When only the linear effect is considered, the change of defect shape could change the maximum light intensification factor and the downstream location for the maximum intensity. When the nonlinear effect is also considered, the light intensification effect will be more sensitive to the shape of defects. This research can provide some reference for the beam quality control and defect management in the high power laser systems.