A holographic method for optimisation of laser-based production processes

© 2016 THOSS Media & De Gruyter 2016. A digital holographic system is used to image the plume dynamics of a train of picosecond laser pulses interacting with titanium, aluminium, copper and brass. The recorded process dynamics are used to propose two optimisation strategies: first, by observing the time at which the plume fully dissipates and, second, through calculation of the minimum beam displacement required to maximise energy delivery to the sample by avoiding the plume. The proposed approach could further be applied in real industrial process design, allowing laser users to formulate a processing strategy based on process dynamics rather than lengthy post-process evaluation of a sample