Numerical simulation of the nano-second pulsed laser ablation process based on the finite element thermal analysis

In this research, the nano-second pulsed laser ablation process is studied using the three dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). Unlike other pulsed lasers such as femto-second or pico-second lasers, the nano-second pulsed laser can be analyzed appropriately based on the heat conduction theory and material removal approximation caused by thermal evaporation. Various process parameters such as the number of shots, laser power and wavelength and pulse width of the incident laser may affect the ablation process and we performed the parametric study and compared the simulation result with pre-existing experimental research. Finally, tendency of the ablation process is estimated using the design of experiments (DOE) and the response surface methodology (RSM).