Laser alloying

Laser alloying

A material processing method which utilizes the high power density available from focused laser sources to melt metal coatings and a portion of the underlying substrate. Since the melting occurs in a very short time and only at the surface, the bulk of the material remains cool, thus serving as an intimate heat sink. Large temperature gradients exist across the boundary between the melted surface region and the underlying solid substrate. The result is rapid selfquenching and resolidification.

For all laser sources, the exposure time (dwell time or pulse length) strongly influences the depth that will be melted. Longer exposure times result in deeper melting. Since deeper melting means a longer total time in the molten state, that means more time available for diffusion of the one or more alloying elements into the molten portion of the substrate. Deeper melting and longer melt times therefore result in more dilute surface alloys, while shallow melting and shorter melt times result in more concentrated surface alloys.

In making laser alloys, many other processing variables need to be considered. In addition to the exposure time, these include the laser power, the thickness of the film put down prior to laser melting, and in some instances the nature of the gaseous ambient during the laser processing. The processing variables are interrelated, and one variable cannot be freely changed without affecting another. Another consideration is that laser alloying is a liquid state–rapid quenching phenomenon. The near-surface region must be melted and yet vaporization avoided. Different minimum and maximum energy densities are thus defined for each laser exposure time. Laser alloying also involves very large temperature gradients and quenching from the liquid state. In this way it resembles other rapid-solidification technologies. The thermodynamic constraints which limit the conventional metallurgist do not necessarily apply. See Alloy, Laser, Metal coatings