Investigation of amorphous and crystalline Ni alloys response to machining with micro-second and pico-second lasers

The machining response of amorphous and polycrystalline Ni-based alloys (Ni78B14Si8) when subjected to micro-second and pico-second laser processing is investigated in this research. The shape and topography of craters created with single pulses as a function of laser energy together with holes drilled in both materials were studied. Focused ion beam (FIB) imaging was used to analyse the single craters and the through holes in the amorphous and polycrystalline samples. The material microstructure analysis revealed that processing both materials with micro-second and pico-second lasers does not lead to crystallisation and the short-range atomic ordering of metallic glasses can be retained. When processing the amorphous sample the material laser interactions resulted in a significant ejection of molten material from the bulk that was then followed by its partial re-deposition around the craters. Additionally, there were no signs of crack formation that indicate a higher surface integrity after laser machining. A conclusion is made that laser processing both with short- and long-pulses is a promising technique for micromachining metallic glasses because it does not lead to material crystallisation.