Surface texturing of aluminum alloy 2024-T3 via femto- and nanosecond pulse excimer laser irradiation

Surface texturing effects of aluminum alloy 2024-T3 using femtosecond and nanosecond pulse laser irradiation were studied. The micrographs 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. Two ablation regimes in the logarithmic fluence dependence of the ablated depth for the 500-fs-pulse irradiation were observed. The theoretical analysis for ablation processes is in good agreement with the experimental results.