No description available.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst. / Härtill 7 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

No description available.

An investigation into the feasibility of laser ablation as a material selective removal technique was conducted. Polyimide films approximately 1 micron thick were prepared on silicon wafers. The ablation rate of these films as a function of laser fluence was studied. It was observed that a minimum threshold fluence of 67 +/- 6 mJ/cm^2 had to be surpassed to achieve a significant material removal rate. In addition to polyimide, the removal and damage characteristics of aluminum films were also examined. These films, which ranged in thickness from 50 to 1000 nm, were deposited on polyimide coated silicon wafers. It was found that the best results were produced by a single shot removal technique, with the quality of the hole dependent upon the incident fluence. At lower fluences, removal ceased and only physical damage to the film occurred. In an attempt to characterize this damage, the electrical resistance of small aluminum wires was monitored as they were exposed to laser pulses. It was found that a change in the resistance of the wires could not be detected prior to the onset of visible damage. Once the optimal removal fluences for both materials were determined, a multilayer consisting of an aluminum layer "sandwiched" between two polyimide layers was prepared. By varying only the incident fluence, it was possible to remove upper layers without removing or damaging the underlying ones. In a related experiment, the possible incubation of polyimide by low fluence laser pulses was also examined. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)

BACKGROUND: Laser vision correction (LVC) developed as a more permanent alternative to other forms of refractive error correction. In the last several decades, visual outcomes of corneal refractive surgeries like LVC have improved dramatically with the discovery of new technologies and techniques designed to make the patient experience more comfortable and worthwhile. LVC has been shown to safely and effectively treat refractive errors in myopic and hyperopic eyes, with gradually improving outcomes and safety measures. However, it is important to note whether specific excimer lasers impart the same level of safe, effective treatments for patients as technology advances. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify whether any statistically significant difference exists in the visual and refractive outcomes of hyperopic laser vision correction using two excimer laser platforms, the VISX STAR S4 IR® and the WaveLight® EX500, and to determine whether either laser shows any statistically significant difference in the rate of repeat surgery within one year post-operatively. METHODS: Using EMR data collected from December 2008 through December 2016, distance and near visual acuity outcomes for hyperopic eyes treated with LASIK, LASEK, or PRK were compared at one month and up to one year post-operatively. Distance eyes were compared separately from monovision (near-targeted) eyes for visual acuity; however, if manifest refraction post-operative data were available, they were used to identify whether any difference existed in the refractive outcomes in either category. The number of enhancements (repeat surgeries) was also tabulated. X2 Tests of Independence were used to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: Visual acuity outcomes in distance eyes at one month post-operatively showed similar trends between the two lasers, with 54% of the 267 VISX- and 60% of the 119 EX500-treated eyes presenting with UCVA of 20/20 or better. Eyes available for follow-up within one year post-operatively kept with this trend; 98 (51%) VISX- and 58 (67%) EX500-treated, eyes had UCVA measured at 20/20 or better. For monovision (treated for reading vision) eyes, 29 (47%) eyes and 19 (54%) of VISX- and EX500-treated eyes, respectively, read J1+ by one month post-operatively. By one year, 16 (39%) and 3 (21%) of available eyes read J1+ after treatment with the VISX and EX500 respectively. The relative enhancement rate was 7.82% (28 eyes) on the VISX and 4.19% (7 eyes) on the EX 500. CONCLUSION: Overall, visual outcomes of laser vision correction for hyperopic patients did not differ consistently between the two lasers. Only distance-treated eyes measured up to one year post-operatively showed a statistically significant difference between the two lasers. The visual and, more importantly, the refractive outcomes were statistically similar at both one month and up to one year post-operatively irrespective of treatment type. Enhancement rate between the two lasers also showed no differences. Both lasers are similarly safe and effective for treating hyperopia and hyperopic astigmatism. / 2018-01-11T00:00:00Z

Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία χωρίζεται σε έξι κεφάλαια, καθένα από τα οποία περιγράφεται παρακάτω. Στο πρώτο κεφάλαιο , που ονομάζεται "Θεωρία του laser", περιγράφονται οι γενικές αρχές λειτουργίας του laser. Επιπλέον αναφέρονται τα κύρια μέρη του καθώς και οι τρόποι δημιουργίας του φαινομένου laser. Ενώ τέλος γίνεται αναφορά στα χαρακτηριστικά της δέσμης laser. Στο δεύτερο κεφάλαιο, "Θεωρία του πλάσματος", γίνεται λόγος για τον τρόπο δημιουργίας του πλάσματος, τις εφαρμογές του και μελετόντε κάποια ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά του. Το τρίτο κεφάλαιο αναφέρεται στα excimer laser, την λειτουργία τους και τις ιδιαιτερότητές τους συγκρινόμενα με άλλους τύπους laser. Επιπλέον δίνεται μεγαλύτερη έμφαση στο laser XeCl όπου μελετάται το μόριο του XeCl* καθώς και ο τρόπος δημιουργίας του. Στο τέταρτο κεφάλαιο γίνεται εκτενής αναφορά σε ένα απλοποιημένο θεωρητικό μοντέλο το οποίο δημιουργήθηκε για μελέτη της προσομοίωσης μιας εκκένωσης που πραγματοποιείται μέσα στο ενεργό μέσο προκειμένου να γίνει η αντιστροφή πληθυσμού. Αυτό το θεωρτικό μοντέλο περιλαμβάνει το ηλεκτρικό κύκλωμα που παρέχει ενέργεια στο ενεργό μέσο και στην συνέχεια γίνεται ανάλυση της συμπεριφοράς της εκκένωσης ώστε να επιλυθούν οι εξισώσεις συνέχειας. Στο πέμπτο κεφάλαιο, που ονομάζεται "Αριθμητικό μοντέλο" παρουσιάζονται οι μαθηματικές διεργασίες που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν με στόχο να επιλυθεί το θεωρητικό μοντέλο το οποίο αναπτύχθηκε στο κεφάλαιο τέσσερα. Τέλος στο έκτο κεφάλαιο παρουσιάζονται τα αριθμητικά αποτελέσματα που είναι προϊόν της επίλυσης του αριθμητικού μοντέλου του πέμπτου κεφαλαίου. Επίσης γίνεται σχολιασμών αυτών των αποτελεσμάτων και σύγκρισή τους με αναμενόμενα ή πειραματικά άλλων μελετών. / -

The present study concerns the application of LSM using an excimer laser to enhance the corrosion resistance of rare-earth Elektron 21 magnesium alloy. The alloy has been treated by an excimer laser to produce a highly homogeneous and refined microstructure for improvement of corrosion resistance. The laser surface treatment was applied on two different prepared surfaces of the alloy; i) a ground surface up to 1200 SiC grit; ii) a chemically cleaned surface using CrO3 +AgNO3 boiling solution. The intermetallic phases within the α-matrix that are believed to initiate corrosion have been dissolved by two methods. The first is by the excimer laser, where they were dissolved in the melted layers. The second is by a chemical dissolution prior LSM. Variation of the laser parameters such as changed laser influence (low, medium and high) and increased number of pulses, resulted in formation of thicker melted layers, but promoted the formation of porosity and micro-cracks particularly at overlap regions. The initial stage of this study was aimed at optimising the laser conditions for production of a uniform microstructure, with an increase in the corrosion resistance of the alloy being determined by potentiodynamic polarization measurements in sodium chloride solution. A laser fluence of 6 and 7 J/cm2 with 10, 20, 25, 40 and 50 pulses with a different overlap ratio of 7%, 20% and 50% were subsequently selected as the optimum condition to treat the surface of the alloy. After laser treatment, the top surfaces and the cross-sections of the alloy showed a relatively homogenous melted layer and a significant reduction in the number of large intergranular Mg-Zn-RE phase was achieved resulting in a significant improvement of the corrosion resistance of the alloy. This work also investigated the mechanism of corrosion and the interaction between the intergranular Mg-Zn-RE phase, the Zr-rich regions within the grains and the bulk Mg-rich matrix. The results obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) / energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and scanning Kelvin prop forced microscopy (SKPFM) potential map measurements as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) / energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) have shown the importance of the microstructure in the initiation of corrosion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, where the Zr-rich regions played a distinct role in the early stages of corrosion in this alloy. However, the obtained results have demonstrated that such laser melted layers improved the corrosion resistance of the alloy, but further work is still needed to obtain the fully understanding of such behaviour which can better the research results, particularly the selectively chemical dissolution of the second phases prior LSM.

Laser surface melting (LSM) of aluminium alloys with high power continuous wave (CW) CO2 and Nd:YAG lasers has been shown to produce dendritic/cellular microstructures with refined second-phase particles distributed along the dendritic boundaries. Although refinement of the microstructure and extension of the solute solubility in the matrix can be achieved, the refined second-phase particles still act as preferential sites to initiate localized corrosion. In contrast to a CW laser, an excimer laser with a UV wavelength and pulses width in the range of nanoseconds, resulting in extremely high cooling rate up to 1011 K/s, is expected to generate a further refining of the near-surface microstructure and hence, improved corrosion performance. In this project, a Lumonics IPEX 848 KrF excimer laser, with a wavelength of 248 nm and pulse width of 13 ns, has been used for surface melting of an AA2024-T351 alloy. The aim is to investigate the microstructure and the resultant corrosion behaviour of the laser treated surface, and its contribution to alloy performance. The laser fluence was fixed at 7 J/cm2 and the number of pulses per unit area was varied as 10, 25 and 50 pulses respectively. Microstructural characterisation and compositional analysis have been performed by SEM/EDX, TEM/EDX and XRD to disclose solidification phenomena and phase transformations. The results show that the melted layers, with a melt depth from 3 to 7 µm, have been achieved, that is far more chemically uniform than the bulk alloy. In particular, the relatively fine precipitates and dispersoids in the matrix have been dissolved, while large constituent intermetallic particles at the melted layer/matrix interface have been partially melted. In addition, solute-rich bands, containing particularly copper, were formed within the melted layers, especially at the melted layer/matrix interface. SKPFM also reveals that the laser-melted layers exhibit a uniform surface potential distribution. The corrosion performance of AA2024-T351 alloy before and after LSM has been evaluated by anodic polarisation in deaerated and aerated 0.1 M NaCl solution, and immersion tests in 0.1 NaCl solutions. Exfoliation corrosion immersion test ASTM G34- 01 (EXCO test) was also carried out to evaluate the intergranular corrosion (IGC)/exfoliation resistance of the alloy. The results show that the untreated alloy exhibits severe pitting corrosion and IGC. After LSM, significant improvement of corrosion resistance has been achieved. However, delamination of the laser melted layer from the matrix was evident after an EXCO test for 6 hours. The absence of significant corrosion product may suggest a stress-related mechanism. In order to investigate the effect of LSM on anodising of AA2024-T351 alloy and its influence on the corrosion resistance, excimer LSM has been applied as a pre-treatment method prior to anodising in 0.46 M H2SO4 solution. The results show that LSM significantly improved the corrosion performance following anodising compared with the alloy anodised without LSM and LSM alone.

Laser cleaning is a non contact, highly controllable process for the removal of contaminants from a surface with minimum or no damage to the substrate material. Laser cleaning has been applied mainly on flat and curved surfaces. Little is known on the phenomena and feasibility of laser cleaning of slotted structures. Slots are common structures in engineering, and can be found in many components. In this PhD work, the feasibility of laser cleaning of alpha case on flat titanium alloy surfaces was initially explored, and then an investigation was made on the use of a pulsed laser for the cleaning of micro to macro slots in silicon and metallic materials. The effects of laser processing parameters on the contaminant removal from these slots were experimentally studied. Laser cleaning thresholds and cleanliness was examined. Meanwhile, finite element modelling (FEM) and time domain finite difference modelling techniques were used to simulate the processes involved to aid the understanding of the technique for process optimisation. The experiments were undertaken to verify if such models are able to accurately predict the cleaning thresholds. The surface and sub-surface characteristics before and after laser cleaning were examined using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been shown that the slot structure and its material properties were not damaged or changed by laser cleaning process. A novel contribution is that surface morphology after the laser ablation could be used as a diagnostic method to indentify the presence of alpha case and measure its thickness due to the specific characteristics of the surface roughness and generated cracks on the ablated surface after laser irradiation. Besides, it has been found that an axial beam which propagates into the narrow slots can successfully clean the tiny particles on the slot sidewalls whose width ranges from 3.5 mm to 13mm. These phenomena had never been reported before.