Product Code: JLA_19_3_170

Authors:
F. Quintero
J. Pou
F. Lusquin˜os
A. Riveiro
M. Pe´rez-Amor
Departamento Fi´sica Aplicada, E.T.S. Ingenieros Industriales, University de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain

A. J. S. Fernandes
Department of Physics, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

Experimental investigations on the laser cutting of thick silicon infiltrated silicon carbide (Si–SiC) elements are presented. Si–SiC is a fully dense ceramic composite with high hardness and chemical and thermal stability, which makes it a valuable material in severe conditions. However, machining is still a challenging task. A pulsed Nd:YAG laser was employed to explore the quality of different techniques for the laser cutting of Si–SiC elements with a thickness of 6 mm. In this work, the feasibility of a single-pass technique in comparison with a multi-pass laser cutting was explored for different processing parameters and using both inert and reactive assist gas. A systematic evaluation of the cut quality was assessed by examination of the cross section of samples by optical and electron microscopy, compositional microanalysis, and Raman spectroscopy.