Laser Ablation of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics: Laser-Ionization TOF Mass Spectrometric Study

Neutral fragments from a nanosecond KrF excimer laser-ablated carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP, carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite) were investigated by laser-ionization time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry in order to explore the laser ablation dynamics of CFRP. The neutrals were detected after the post-ionization by an ArF excimer laser pulse at variable delay times, td, relative to the ablation KrF excimer laser pulse. Depending on the ablation fluence, TOF mass spectra and laser-etched surface morphology drastically changed. At the laser fluence of 0.3 J·cm -2 , the resins were preferentially ablated. The TOF mass spectra contained a main peak at 36 amu assigned to C3 + in early delay times, and then the main peak changed to 39 amu assigned to C3H3 + . At 1.0 and 1.5 J·cm -2 , both of carbon fibers and resins were ablated. The most prominent peak was C3 + independent of the delay time. The delay-time distribution of C3 + exhibited a single peak at 0.3 J·cm -2 and then changed to two peaks at 1.5 J·cm -2 . The fits with shifted Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution gave good agreement, suggesting transient maximum CFRP temperature of 4700, 6400, and 7100 K at 0.3, 1.0 and 1.5 J·cm -2 , respectively.