Product Code: JLA_17_4_243

Authors:
Yongjin Shin
Department of Physics, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, South Korea and Beckman Laser Institute, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California 92612

Youngseop Kim
Sohee Park
Laser Imaging Laboratory, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, South Korea

Byungjo Jung
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju 220–710, South Korea

Jangwoen Lee
J. Stuart Nelson
Beckman Laser Institute, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, California 92612

Pit and rim formation on the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic surface was evaluated after it was irradiated by CO₂ and Nd:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser beams. Our results show that the thermal effect floor was well observed at the outer wall of the pit with CO₂ laser irradiation while it was not the case with Nd:YAG laser irradiation. The volume and depth of the pit formation increase proportionally with laser irradiation energy while there are significant differences in the slope, width, and full width at half maximum of the pit formation with two different types of laser irradiations. This result shows that CO₂ laser irradiation leads to a better cooling contraction effect while Nd:YAG laser irradiation induces a better recoil pressure effect during the interaction between ABS plastic and laser beam irradiation. The shape of the laser marking could vary significantly depending on the traveling path of molten plastic during injection molding of ABS plastic. Therefore, the selection of material and molding process can have a great impact on the laser micromachining of plastic.