Fracture toughness of zirconia from a shallow notch produced by ultra-short pulsed laser ablation

Fracture toughness of submicron grain size tetragonal zirconia polycrystals doped with 3 mol% yttria (3Y-TZP) is measured by the single edge V-notch beam (SEVNB) method from a shallow sharp notch produced by ultra-short pulsed femtolaser ablation (UPLA) on the surface of a bending bar. It is shown that the radius of the notch tip achieved is in the submicron range and the damaged volume in front of the notch tip is characterized by using focus ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy. It consists of a narrow fully microcracked region less than ∼4 μm wide and ∼15 μm deep in front of the notch. If the extension of this region and the length of the notch are used in the determination of the fracture toughness (K_Ic) in the four bending test, the values obtained for submicron grain size 3Y-TZP are in agreement those obtained by using very sharp cracks. It is concluded that the SEVNB testing method with a sharp notch induced by UPLA may be used for K_Ic testing of submicron grain size ceramics.     

Demonstration of the monolithic interconnection on CIS solar cells by picosecond laser structuring on 30 by 30 cm2 modules

In this paper, we present the selective structuring of all three patterns (P1, P2 and P3) of a monolithic interconnection of CIS (Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂) thin film solar cells by picosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 1064 nm. We show results for single pulse ablation threshold values and line scribing of molybdenum films on glass (P1), CIS on molybdenum (P2) and zinc oxide on CIS (P3). The purposes of these processes are the p‐type isolation (P1), cell interconnect (P2) and n‐type isolation (P3), which are required for complete cell architecture. The half micron thick molybdenum back electrode can be structured with a process speed of more than 15 m/s at about 15 W average power without detectable residues and damage by direct induced laser ablation from the back side (P1). The CIS layer can be structured selectively down to the molybdenum at process speeds up to 1 m/s at about 15 W average power, due to the precision of direct laser ablation in the ultrashort pulse regime (P2). The ZnO front electrode layer is separated by clean trenches with straight side walls at process speeds of up to 15 m/s at about 10 W average power, as a result of indirect induced laser ablation (P3). A validation of functionality of all processes is demonstrated on CIS solar cell modules (30 × 30 cm²). By replacing one state‐of‐the‐art process by a picosecond laser process at a time, solar efficiencies could be increased for P1 and P2 and stayed on a similar level for P3. After an optimization of the patterning processes in the R&D pilot line of AVANCIS, we achieved a new record efficiency for an all‐laser‐patterned CIS solar module: 14.7% as best value for the aperture area efficiency of a 30 × 30 cm² sized CIS module was reached. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Femtosecond laser modification of an array of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes intercalated with Fe phase nanoparticles

Femtosecond lasers (FSL) are playing an increasingly important role in materials research, characterization, and modification. Due to an extremely short pulse width, interactions of FSL irradiation with solid surfaces attract special interest, and a number of unusual phenomena resulted in the formation of new materials are expected. Here, we report on a new nanostructure observed after the interaction of FSL irradiation with arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) intercalated with iron phase catalyst nanoparticles. It was revealed that the FSL laser ablation transforms the topmost layer of CNT array into iron phase nanospheres (40 to 680 nm in diameter) located at the tip of the CNT bundles of conical shape. Besides, the smaller nanospheres (10 to 30 nm in diameter) are found to be beaded at the sides of these bundles. Some of the larger nanospheres are encapsulated into carbon shells, which sometime are found to contain CNTs. The mechanism of creation of such nanostructures is proposed.     

Nanofabrication with Pulsed Lasers

An overview of pulsed laser-assisted methods for nanofabrication, which are currently developed in our Institute (LP3), is presented. The methods compass a variety of possibilities for material nanostructuring offered by laser–matter interactions and imply either the nanostructuring of the laser-illuminated surface itself, as in cases of direct laser ablation or laser plasma-assisted treatment of semiconductors to form light-absorbing and light-emitting nano-architectures, as well as periodic nanoarrays, or laser-assisted production of nanoclusters and their controlled growth in gaseous or liquid medium to form nanostructured films or colloidal nanoparticles. Nanomaterials synthesized by laser-assisted methods have a variety of unique properties, not reproducible by any other route, and are of importance for photovoltaics, optoelectronics, biological sensing, imaging and therapeutics.     

Luminescence hydrogenated nanoamorphous Si films fabricated by reactive pulsed laser ablation

Hydrogenated nanoamorphous Si (na-Si:H) films have been fabricated by reactive pulsed laser ablation technique with hydrogen as reactive gas. It is found that the hydrogen pressure has a great effect on both the structure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the films. Increasing the hydrogen pressure leads to a structural transition of the films from amphorous Si to na-Si:H, and the PL center wavelength of the na-Si:H films is varied with the hydrogen pressure. The PL decay times of the na-Si:H films are in the nanosecond scale and are shorter on the high energy side of their PL spectrum. The results demonstrate that the na-Si:H films are promising candidates for visible, tunable and high-performance light-emitting devices.     

Polymer-stable magnesium nanocomposites prepared by laser ablation for efficient hydrogen storage

Hydrogen is a promising alternative energy carrier that can potentially facilitate the transition from fossil fuels to sources of clean energy because of its prominent advantages such as high energy density (142 MJ kg⁻¹), great variety of potential sources (for example water, biomass, organic matter), and low environmental impact (water is the sole combustion product). However, due to its light weight, the efficient storage of hydrogen is still an issue investigated intensely. Various solid media have been considered in that respect among which magnesium hydride stands out as a candidate offering distinct advantages.     

Additively-manufactured multiphase coatings with laser protection ability for the repairing of MoSi2-SiC/SiC coated C/C composites

The Si-SiC-MoSi₂ and Si-SiC coatings were proposed to repair the damaged MoSi₂-SiC/SiC coated C/C composites by laser directed energy deposition. Laser ablation was used to assess the repair effect. Results showed that both the repaired coatings with dense structure could restore the geometric size of damaged area. Compared with the Si-SiC-MoSi₂ coating, the Si-SiC repaired coating with higher laser reflectivity and more free Si could reduce the heat generation and enhance the heat dissipation during ablation, which lowered the maximum temperature by 347.49 K and 810.77 K under 300 W and 500 W ablation for 7 s separately, beneficial to avoid the secondary laser damage of the repaired area.     

烧蚀发汗冷却控制模型及解

在不计热膨胀效应的情形下，简单地建立了一个烧蚀过程的发汗冷却控制的分布参数模型．对于固定的控制分布，证明了正解的存在唯一性，导出了烧蚀过程在有限时间结束的条件．最后，证明了临界发汗量的存在性．     

火箭喷管硅基内衬的液体层烧蚀模型

本文提出喷管工作条件下硅基内衬的液体层烧蚀模型,认为其烧蚀机理是热化学反应的消耗和SiO_2熔融液体层在喷管燃气流剪切力和压力梯度作用下的流失。根据液体层烧蚀模型,建立了烧蚀预示计算方法,针对硅基内村喷管扩张段进行了预示计算,获得沿喷管扩张段长度的烧蚀率和表面温度分布,并进行了影响烧蚀率的参数研究。理论预示与实验结果吻合良好,说明喷管工作条件下硅基内衬的液体层烧蚀模型比较符合实际。     

用光声信号飞越时间法对纯铜脉冲激光烧蚀的研究

利用脉冲激光束轰击金属样品表面时在周围空气中激发的光声信号研究了纯铜的激光烧蚀。实验中,用He-Ne探测光束偏转方法检测光声信号,并根据光声信号飞越时间随激光能量密度的变化测定了纯铜的脉冲激光烧蚀阈值。文中还给出了一种理论估计脉冲激光烧蚀阈值的较为实用的方法。纯铜的脉冲激光烧蚀阈值的实测值约为3.0 J/cm2,理论估计值为3.2 J/cm2。两者符合较好。结果表明,光声信号方法是测定纯铜的脉冲激光烧蚀阈值的一种简单可行的方法。