《Laser Interference Processing》.pdfVIP

Chapter 11 Laser Interference Processing 11.1 Introduction Previous chapters deal mostly with the processing of materials with a single beam of laser (as in drilling, cutting) or with multiple beams from different laser sources (as in laser shaping). Novel material processing methods can be developed based on the interference patterns produced by the superposition of two or more laser beams. Historically, interference phenomena have been the means of establishing the wave nature of light and have found significant practical applications in spectroscopy and metrology (Born and Wolf 1980). Recently, the interference phenomena have been utilized for the surface processing of materials in a wide range of applications such as micromachining and biomedical applications. Laser interference processing is a relatively new technique finding increased utilization in the areas of extended-area surface processing of materials. This chapter briefly discusses the theory and the applications of laser interference phenomena in surface processing of materials. 11.2 Theory of Interference When a beam of light is divided by a suitable apparatus into two or more beams which are subsequently superposed, the intensity in the region of superposition shows the unique variation. The intensity in the region of superposition varies from point to point between the maxima (exceeding the sum of intensities in the beams) and the minima (may be zero). This superposition of two or more beams is referred as interference. Interference patterns are generally obtained by the superposition of beams which are coherent with each other. The beams coming from different sources are mutually incoherent and no interference is generally observed under common experimental condition. However, if the two beams originate from the same source, the fluctuations in the beam are generally correlated and the beams are said