Modelling nanoparticles formation in the plasma plume induced by nanosecond pulsed lasers

International audience; Nanoparticles formation in a laser-induced plasma plume in the ambient air has been investigated by using numerical simulations and physical models. For high irradiances, or for ultrashort laser pulses, nanoparticles are formed by condensation, as fine powders, in the expanding plasma for very high pairs of temperature and pressure. At lower irradiances, or nanosecond laser pulses, another thermodynamic paths are possible, which cross the liquid-gas transition curve while laser is still heating the target and the induced plasma. In this work, we explore the growth of nanoparticles in the plasma plume induced by nanosecond pulsed lasers as a function of the laser irra…

Incorporation d'azote et d'oxygène dans les nanoparticules formées par traitement de surface laser de cibles métalliques dans l'air

International audience; Lors de l'irradiation de matériaux métalliques tels que l'aluminium, le fer ou le titane par un faisceau laser de courte durée d'impulsion (de l'ordre de la nanoseconde), il se forme une vapeur très énergétique et fortement ionisée appelée plume-plasma. A la fin de l'interaction, ce plasma se refroidit et se détend à des vitesses supersoniques. Des nanoparticules résultent de la condensation de cette vapeur métallique dans l'air, donc de la réactivité chimique avec les gaz réactifs de l'air tels que l'azote et l'oxygène. L'objectif de cette étude est de quantifier la quantité d'éléments légers afin de comprendre les mécanismes physiques mis en jeu dans le plasma, cré…

A Thermo-Kinetic Study of Titanium Oxidation Assisted by a Nd-YAG Pulsed Laser

Improving the high temperature oxidation resistance of pure titanium by shot-peening treatments

International audience; Shot-peening (SP) treatments have shown their capacity to improve the oxidation resistance of titanium and zirconium thanks to the large compressive stresses and the surface hardening induced by this mechanical process. However, shot-peening treatments can produce a surface chemical deposit, which can modify the high temperature oxidation resistance. Here, we study pure titanium samples shot-peened with different type of balls: tungsten carbide, alumina or glass. The oxidation behavior was studied at 700 °C in dry air by thermo gravimetric analysis for short isotherm oxidation periods up to 100 h. Also, long oxidation tests (3000 h) at 700 °C were performed with an i…

Study of surface layers and ejected powder formed by oxidation of titanium substrates with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam.

Laser treatment of a titanium surface at certain conditions initiates the formation of titanium oxide layers as well as micro (nano) scale powder ejected from the surface of the substrate. The resultant morphology of the surface as well as the size and the structure of the particles are all strongly dependent on the treatment parameters (laser fluence, pulse frequency, overlap parameter, etc.). In this study, titanium substrates were treated with an industrial pulsed Nd:YAG laser in air, with varying parameters. Surface layers and ejected materials were compared using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The rutile phase of TiO(2) dominate…

Influence of laser–target interaction regime on composition and properties of surface layers grown by laser treatment of Ti plates

Surface laser treatment of commercially pure titanium plates was performed in air using two different Nd : YAG sources delivering pulses of 5 and 35 ns. The laser fluence conditions were set to obtain with each source either yellow or blue surface layers. Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) was used to quantify the amount of light elements in the formed layers. Titanium oxinitrides, containing different amounts of oxygen and nitrogen, were mainly found, except in the case of long pulses and high laser fluence, which led to the growth of titanium dioxide. The structure of the layers was studied by x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, reflectance spectra showed the transition fr…

Improving the high temperature oxidation resistance of Ti-β21S by mechanical surface treatment

The improvement of the high temperature oxidation resistance of titanium alloys is currently a technological challenge. Mechanical surface treatments as shot-peening (SP) have shown their ability to improve the behaviour of pure zirconium and titanium. However, shot-peening treatments can induce a significant surface contamination. Laser shock peening (LSP) appears as a good alternative. Here, we have investigated the effect of SP and LSP treatments on the HT oxidation behavior of Ti-β21S. Samples treated by these methods have been compared to untreated ones for long exposures (3000 h) at 700 °C in dry air. The samples placed in a furnace at 700 °C were periodically extracted to be weighed.…

Growth of titanium oxynitride layers by short pulsed Nd:YAG laser treatment of Ti plates: Influence of the cumulated laser fluence.

International audience; Titanium oxynitride layerswere formed by surface laser treatment of Ti plates in air using a Nd:YAG laser source of short pulse duration about 5 ns. The cumulated laser fluence was varied in the 100–1200 J cm2 range and its influence on the composition and the structure of the formed layers was studied by different characterization techniques providing physico-chemical and structural information. It was shown that the laser treatment induces the insertion of light elements as O, N and C in the formed layer with the amount increasing with the laser fluence. The in-depth composition of the layers and the co-existence of different phases were also studied. The way in wh…

Microstructural and tribological study of Nd:YAG laser treated titanium plates.

Abstract In this work, the fretting behaviour of pure Ti plates laser treated with a Nd:YAG pulsed laser was compared to that of untreated Ti plates. Fretting tests were done at room temperature without lubrication. The contact geometry was a cylinder (bearing steel) on a plane. The evolution of both the ratio, μ = Q / P , between the normal and the tangential forces, and the Fouvry's energy criterion ( A ) were recorded as a function of the number of fretting cycles, N . Energy dispersive spectrometry and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to analyse the fretting scars. The oxidized layer formed by the laser treatment displayed a mixed slip regime as a function of N , and a smaller frettin…

Wavelength influence on nitrogen insertion into titanium by nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation in air

Abstract We studied in this work the influence of the wavelength (532 vs. 1064 nm) on the insertion of nitrogen in titanium targets by surface laser treatments in air. The laser pulses were of 5 ns and the irradiance was lower than 25 × 10 12  W/m 2 . Results obtained using a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm were compared with those previously reported for laser treatments at 1064 nm. Nuclear reaction analysis and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used for determining the composition and the structure of the surface layers, respectively. Results showed the lower efficiency of irradiation at 532 nm for nitrogen insertion, which is possible only above threshold conditions depending on bot…

Laser plasma plume structure and dynamics in the ambient air: The early stage of expansion

Laser ablation plasma plume expanding into the ambient atmosphere may be an efficient way to produce nanoparticles. From that reason it would be interesting to study the properties of these laser induced plasmas formed under conditions that are known to be favorable for nanoparticles production. In general, plume behavior can be described as a two-stage process: a “violent” plume expansion due to the absorption of the laser beam energy (during the laser pulse) followed by a fast adiabatic expansion in the ambient gas (after the end of the laser pulse). Plasma plume may last a few microseconds and may have densities 10−6 times lower than the solid densities at temperatures close to the ambie…

In-situ small-angle x-ray scattering study of nanoparticles in the plasma plume induced by pulsed laser irradiation of metallic targets

Import JabRef; International audience; Small angle x-ray scattering was used to probe in-situ the formation of nanoparticles in the plasma plume generated by pulsed laser irradiation of a titanium metal surface under atmospheric conditions. The size and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized as function of laser irradiance. Two families of nanoparticles were identified with sizes on the order of 10 and 70 nm, respectively. These results were confirmed by ex-situ transmission electron microscopy experiments.

Influence of the composition of titanium oxynitride layers on the fretting behavior of functionalized titanium substrates: PVD films versus surface laser treatments

International audience; Abstract In this work we compared the fretting behavior of pure titanium plates functionalized with titanium oxynitride surface layers, obtained by two methods: a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method, reactive magnetron sputtering, and Surface Laser Treatments (SLT), under different mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen. The composition of the layers was determined by nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) and their structure was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. PVD layers were TiN-like fcc layers, with an oxygen concentration going from 36 to 50 at.%. Three SLT layers were studied. The first one was a TiN-like layer containing ~28 at.% of oxygen. The second one was formed of di…

Pulsed laser growth and characterization of thin films on titanium substrates

Abstract Colored layers were obtained by laser surface treatment of Ti substrates with a pulsed Nd:YAG Q-switched laser. The changes in the morphology, structure and chemical composition of the layers were studied by SEM, EDS, XPS, SIMS and Raman spectroscopy as a function of the laser fluence in the 4–60 J cm −2 . For laser fluences lower than 25 J cm −2 , the layers are colorless or yellow. Their surface is smooth, but they display cracks which increase when the fluence increases. The O/Ti ratio, determined by XPS analysis, varies from 0.7 (colorless layers) to 1.3 (yellow layer). Moreover, XPS spectra evidence non-negligible amounts of nitrogen and carbon in these layers. Raman spectra s…

Thermal effects of continuous laser treatment on Ti-6 Al(wt%)-4V(wt%) titanium alloy

A titanium alloy Ti-6 Al(wt%)-4V(wt%) was treated in air by Nd:YAG laser radiation (wavelength of 1.064 %m) in continuous mode. Targets were irradiated globally with different levels of energy (accumulated fluence) at constant power. Different focal lengths and beam displacement velocities were used. Cross section microstructural observations were carried out by scanning electron microscopy. Backscattered electron imaging reveals microstructural modifications in samples. A structural phase transformation of beta (bcc) to alpha prime (hcp) phase was observed. The depth of the transformed zone observed by phase transformation is dependent on the treatment parameters. Conformity between micros…