IMPROVED HOLE DRILLING USING A HIGH PEAK POWER ND-YAG LASER AT THE 2ND-HARMONIC WAVELENGTH

We have previously described the drilling of advanced materials such a s intermetallics, superalloys, and composites using an Nd:YAG laser op erating at the fundamental wavelength of 1.06 mu m [1]. We have now ex tended these studies to the second harmonic wavelength of 532 nm of a high peak power Nd:YAC laser. The results show that drilling using the shorter wavelength further reduces undesired thermal effects such as recast layers and heat affected zones. A comparison of these results w ith those obtained at the fundamental wavelength is reported.