ND-YAG LASER DRILLING OF SLATE

A serie of experiments to investigate the feasibility of using a Nd:YA G laser to process slate tiles and the influence of the processing par ameters have been undertaken. The objective of this work is to investi gate the capabilities of a Nd:YAG pulsed laser to drill tiny holes in slate tiles, in order to produce a better quality drilled slate tile i n a reduced time. Part of the results obtained in a systematic study a bout the influence of the processing parameters, such as average power , pulse width, frequency, pressure and type of assisting gas is presen ted.