Experimental and theoretical investigation of localized CO2 laser interaction with fused silica during the process of surface damage mitigation

Tan, Chao and Zhao, Linjie and Chen, Mingjun and Cheng, Jian and Wu, Chunya and Liu, Qi and Yang, Hao and Yin, Zhaoyang and Liao, Wei (2020) Experimental and theoretical investigation of localized CO2 laser interaction with fused silica during the process of surface damage mitigation. Results in Physics, 16. 102936. ISSN 2211-3797 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2020.102936)

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Abstract

Localized CO2 laser repairing of surface damage on fused silica optics has been successfully applied in high-power laser system in the field of controllable nuclear fusion. In order to accurately predict the surface topography evolution and to reveal the intrinsic physical mechanism during the process of laser mitigation, experiments of localized CO2 laser mitigation were firstly carried out to analyze the features of mitigated craters under different laser powers. Then a multi-physics coupled mathematical model was developed based on the fluid control equation, heat and mass transfer equation and material phase transition kinetics to investigate the thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors of laser interaction with silica. The model considered the effects of Marangoni convection, gravity, capillary force and vaporization recoil pressure, as well as the nonlinear variation of physical parameters of silica material with respect to temperature. The results showed that with the increase of laser power, the material ablation and the appearance of raised rim occurred simultaneously. The depth of the mitigated crater increased sharply when the threshold for material ablation was attained, while the lateral dimension increased linearly. The vaporization recoil pressure was found to be the dominant factor for the formation of Gaussian crater with the raised rim feature. The capillary force caused the material at the edge of the molten pool to have a tendency to reflow after laser shutting down, but it was too small to change the surface topography. This work could significantly contribute to the understanding of laser mitigation process, which laid the foundation for the accurate prediction and evaluation of surface quality of CO2 laser repaired fused silica surface.

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