Surface modification of aluminum alloy 2024-T3 via femtosecond pulse laser irradiation

Surface modification of aluminum alloy 2024-T3 using femtosecond pulsed excimer laser irradiation was studied at 248 nm. The images of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were characterized as a function of incident laser fluence. Results indicated that the surface features, ranging from nano- to microdimension, can be developed through variation in laser fluence intensities and pulse counts. Two ablation regimes in the logarithmic fluence dependence of the ablated depth for the 500fs-pulse irradiation were observed. The theoretical analysis for ablation processes is in a good agreement with the experimental results.