Product Code: PIC06_403

The Reflectance of Steels and Non-ferrous Alloys to Nd:YAG and Nd:YLF Laser Light
Authors:
David Bergström, Mid Sweden University; stersund Sweden
John Powell, Laser Expertise Ltd.; Nottingham Great Britain
Alexander Kaplan, Lulea University of Technology; Lulea Sweden
Presented at PICALO 2006

The measurement of reflectance is important for the analysis and modelling of laser-material interactions. Unfortunately, most of the reflectance data presently available consider only polished pure metals rather than the commercially available (unpolished, oxidised) alloys which are actually being processed. This paper presents the results of reflectance measurements carried out on as-received engineering grade metals including: hot and cold rolled mild steel, zinc coated mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, copper and brass. The measurements were made using an integrating sphere with an Nd:YLF laser at two wavelengths (1053 nm and 527 nm). The results obtained differ considerably from existing data for polished, pure metals and should help to improve the accuracy of laser-material interaction models.