Abstract

Laser material processing has attracted great attention in the laser industry due to the laser’s capability to process various materials, high processing speed, and high precision. However, a real-time process monitoring method remains underdeveloped. It is one of the key technologies for achieving process optimization which is now rooted in trial and error methodology. Several monitoring methods have been developed based on the detection of phenomena from laser interaction with materials in the process, such as optical images or spectrums[1][2], acoustic emissions during the laser material processing [3], or plasma detection with an external electric field[4]. Plane electrodes generating an electric field for plasma detection provides a simple method for laser processing monitoring. However, the signal level was usually low. In this paper, we propose two new interdigital electrode designs, flat and circular, to increase the signal level and the detection sensitivity of laser-induced plasma.

© 2013 IEEE