Study on the transparency of polymer materials in case of Nd:YAG laser radiation

Abstract

The exact knowledge of laser-polymer interaction and polymer behaviour is a fundamental requirement to establish good joint quality in the case of transparent-absorbent joining. In the course of this study, the authors investigated the effect of different material properties and laser settings, like thickness, additives, laser power and pulse characteristics, on the transparency in the case of poly(methyl methacrylate) and polypropylene materials. A new method was developed to detect the limits of material tolerance, which can be the basis of further research on polymer-polymer and polymer-metal hybrid joints.