Shock wave generation in laser ablation studied using pulsed digital holographic interferometry

Pulsed digital holographic interferometry has been used to study the shock wave induced by a Q-switched Nd-YAG laser (lambda = 1064 nm and pulse duration 12 ns) on a polycrystalline boron nitride (PCBN) ceramic target under atmospheric air pressure. A special setup based on using two synchronized wavelengths from the same laser for processing and measurement simultaneously has been introduced. Collimated laser light (lambda = 532 nm) passed through the volume along the target and digital holograms were recorded for different time delays after processing starts. Numerical data of the integrated refractive index field were calculated and presented as phase maps showing the propagation of the shock wave generated by the process. The location of the induced shock wave front was observed for different focusing and time delays. The amount of released energy, i. e. the part of the incident energy of the laser pulse that is eventually converted to a shock wave has been estimated using the point explosion model. The released energy is normalized by the incident laser pulse energy and the energy conversion efficiency between the laser pulse and PCBN target has been calculated at different power densities. The results show that the energy conversion efficiency seems to be constant around 80% at high power densities.