Laser drilling of silicon nitride and alumina ceramics: A numerical and experimental study

Laser drilling of silicon nitride (Si3N4) and alumina (Al2O3) ceramics targ ets was studied theoretically and experimentally. A one-dimensional model b ased on the heat-transfer equation was developed in order to describe the p rocess. It includes a change of the type of the equivalent heat source duri ng the laser pulse. The drilling of Si3N4 and Al2O3 ceramic slabs was perfo rmed by using a TEM00 Q-switched 10 ns pulse Nd:YAG laser. When the absorpt ion of the plasma formed during the drilling process was taken into account , the theoretical results obtained agreed well with the experimental ones. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.