Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces
High-quality frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are important for electromagnetic signal absorption/filtration. Usually, they are made from wave-transparent composite materials covered with a thin metal layer. Current machining methods show some disadvantages when performing fabrication on the stru...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/12/2808 |
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| author | Jian Cheng Shufeng Jing Deyuan Lou Qibiao Yang Qing Tao Zhong Zheng Lie Chen Xuefeng Yang Dun Liu |
| author_facet | Jian Cheng Shufeng Jing Deyuan Lou Qibiao Yang Qing Tao Zhong Zheng Lie Chen Xuefeng Yang Dun Liu |
| author_sort | Jian Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High-quality frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are important for electromagnetic signal absorption/filtration. Usually, they are made from wave-transparent composite materials covered with a thin metal layer. Current machining methods show some disadvantages when performing fabrication on the structure. Based on its flexibility and uncontactable processing characteristics, nanosecond laser etching of aluminum-plated composite materials applied to FSSs was investigated. To observe the influence of the laser light incident angle, etching of a series of square areas with different incident angles was performed. Thereafter, an image processing method, named the image gray variance (IGV), was employed to perform etching quality evaluation analysis. The observed microscopic pictures of experimental samples were consistent with those of the IGV evaluation. The potential reasons that might affect the etching quality were analyzed. Following all the efforts above, an incident angle range of ±15° was recommended, and the best etching result was obtained at the incident angle of 10°. To observe the influence of the laser pulse overlap and focal spot size on the etched area border uniformity and on the potential damage to the base materials, a theoretical equation was given, and then its prediction of area border edge burrs fluctuation was compared with the experiments. Furthermore, SEM pictures of etched samples were examined. Based on the study, a processing window of the laser pulse overlap and focal spot size was recommended. To conclude, optimal etching results of the FSS materials could be guaranteed by using the right laser operating parameters with the nanosecond laser. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:58:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d36108fc98504e7b8cc3fe756fb27fca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:58:41Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-d36108fc98504e7b8cc3fe756fb27fca2023-11-20T04:35:21ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442020-06-011312280810.3390/ma13122808Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective SurfacesJian Cheng0Shufeng Jing1Deyuan Lou2Qibiao Yang3Qing Tao4Zhong Zheng5Lie Chen6Xuefeng Yang7Dun Liu8School of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Jinan University, Jinan 250022, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaHigh-quality frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are important for electromagnetic signal absorption/filtration. Usually, they are made from wave-transparent composite materials covered with a thin metal layer. Current machining methods show some disadvantages when performing fabrication on the structure. Based on its flexibility and uncontactable processing characteristics, nanosecond laser etching of aluminum-plated composite materials applied to FSSs was investigated. To observe the influence of the laser light incident angle, etching of a series of square areas with different incident angles was performed. Thereafter, an image processing method, named the image gray variance (IGV), was employed to perform etching quality evaluation analysis. The observed microscopic pictures of experimental samples were consistent with those of the IGV evaluation. The potential reasons that might affect the etching quality were analyzed. Following all the efforts above, an incident angle range of ±15° was recommended, and the best etching result was obtained at the incident angle of 10°. To observe the influence of the laser pulse overlap and focal spot size on the etched area border uniformity and on the potential damage to the base materials, a theoretical equation was given, and then its prediction of area border edge burrs fluctuation was compared with the experiments. Furthermore, SEM pictures of etched samples were examined. Based on the study, a processing window of the laser pulse overlap and focal spot size was recommended. To conclude, optimal etching results of the FSS materials could be guaranteed by using the right laser operating parameters with the nanosecond laser.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/12/2808nanosecond lasercomposite materialincident anglepulse overlapfrequency selective surface |
| spellingShingle | Jian Cheng Shufeng Jing Deyuan Lou Qibiao Yang Qing Tao Zhong Zheng Lie Chen Xuefeng Yang Dun Liu Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces Materials nanosecond laser composite material incident angle pulse overlap frequency selective surface |
| title | Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces |
| title_full | Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces |
| title_fullStr | Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces |
| title_short | Nanosecond Laser Etching of Aluminum-Plated Composite Materials Applied to Frequency Selective Surfaces |
| title_sort | nanosecond laser etching of aluminum plated composite materials applied to frequency selective surfaces |
| topic | nanosecond laser composite material incident angle pulse overlap frequency selective surface |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/12/2808 |
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