This research advances the application of Laser-Induced Graphene (LIG) in pressure sensing and energy harvesting, focusing on LIG derived from fluorine-integrated colorless polyimide (CPI) films. The graphitization of CPI films using laser techniques, validated by ReaxFF simulations, creates a porous LIG structure ideal for high-sensitivity pressure sensors. The CPI-LIG pressure sensor demonstrates exceptional sensitivity (60.340 kPa-1 at 1.0–1.5 kPa), quick response (27 ms), and fast recovery (36 ms), with proven accuracy in tracking human movements. Additionally, the CPI-LIG enhanced triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) significantly boosts power output to 65.2 mW/m2, a 650% increase over traditional LIG, under a 40 MΩ load. This study thus reveals novel applications of CPI-derived LIG in sensitive pressure sensors and efficient energy harvesters.
Stress waves propagating inside materials play a significant role in femtosecond laser processing. In this study, we measured femtosecond-laser-induced stress waves inside synthetic silica glass using a time-resolved Mach–Zehnder interferometer. A laser pulse with a wavelength of 1030 nm, pulse width of 180 fs, and pulse energy of 100 μJ was used to induce stress waves. The three-dimensional distribution of the refractive-index change of the stress wave was obtained via reconstruction using the inverse Abele transform. This result contributes to the further development of femtosecond laser processing.
Ultrashort pulse laser processing has been proved as an efficient method of microfabricating dielectric materials such as silicon carbide, sapphire, and glass, yet damages are formed around the processed area. In this study, we combine a pump-probe imaging system with a high-speed camera to visualize the ultrafast phenomena of each pulse irradiation and identify the mechanism of damage generation of dielectric materials. In addition, the observations are conducted with various pulse widths to clarify the dependence on the processing conditions. The results demonstrate that the damage is mainly caused by the electron excitation and stress wave propagation.
Filamentation induced by femtosecond laser pulses in transparent dielectrics has received much attention due to its potential application prospects in micro processing fields. The processing mechanism is essentially determined by the interaction between femtosecond laser pulses and matters, and subsequent filament properties. However, the evolution characteristics of filaments have not been systematically investigated. Herein, we observed the spatiotemporal evolution of filaments induced by a femtosecond laser pulse in silica glass and sapphire by using time-resolved pump-probe shadowgraphy. The dependence of filament evolution on material properties was analyzed, considering the excitation and decay of electronic plasma. In addition, we conducted experiments under different pump powers and focal depths, to clarify the dependence of filament on laser parameters. This study contributes to the understanding of filamentation mechanism and precise control of micro processing applications.
Laser-induced shock waves have been gaining attention for biological and medical applications in which shock waves influence cell permeation. However, the mechanisms of permeation remain mostly unclear because of the difficulty of observing the transient and dynamic behaviors of the shock waves and the cells. Here we present an all-optical measurement method that can quantitatively capture the pressure distribution of the propagating shock wave and simultaneously monitor the dynamic behavior of cell membranes. Using this method, we find that a sharp pressure gradient causes cell membrane permeation. Our measurement will further advance biological and medical applications of shock waves.
Many materials with wide bandgap, such as glasses, sapphire, and silicon carbide (SiC), have excellent optical, electrical, and mechanical properties and are used in various industrial and scientific applications. Ultrashort pulse laser processing has been attracting attention as a method of micromachining wide-bandgap materials. Because the peak intensity of ultrashort pulse laser is extremely high, its focused pulse can make wide-bandgap materials absorb its light energy via multiphoton absorption. However, it has a problem that damage occurs around the processed region. In this study, we observe the high-speed phenomena during the ultrashort pulse laser drilling of wide-bandgap materials using pump-probe imaging in combination with a high-speed camera to clarify the mechanism of damage generation. This method visualizes both the static phenomena such as the processed shape and the damage, and the dynamic phenomena such as the electron excitation and the stress wave propagation, which change with each pulse irradiation. In addition, we conduct the experiments by changing the pulse width and the material to be processed to investigate the dependence of damage generation on the processing condition. The results show that stress waves propagating inside the material during processing cause the damage, and that the damage generation pattern changes depending on the pulse width and material. This study contributes to optimizing the processing conditions to suppress the damage during the ultrashort pulse laser processing of wide-bandgap materials.
Glass-to-glass welding using ultrashort pulse laser is attracting attention. However, the low processing speed and the requirement of the small air gap between glass substrates have impeded its use in industry. In our study, we achieved rapid welding of glass substrates by coaxially focusing a single femtosecond laser pulse and a continuous-wave (CW) laser with a wavelength that transmits through glass. The selective absorption of the CW laser into the excited electrons increased the processing speed by a factor of 500 compared to the conventional method, while the allowable gap increased by a factor of 4.
Recently, ultrashort pulse laser processing has been attracting attention as a method for microprocessing SiC. However, there is a severe problem with this technique: cracks formed around the processed shape hinder precision processing. In this study, to reveal the mechanism of crack formation during the ultrashort pulse laser processing of SiC, we investigated the high-speed phenomena happening during processing. The phenomena were captured using an imaging system consisting of the pump-probe imaging method and a high-speed camera. The ultrashort pulse laser and the high-speed camera are operated at 1 kHz in synchronization, which enables us to capture the high-speed phenomena during processing that change as the process progresses. As a result, we have succeeded in capturing the damage formation process. The results show that the damage is generated and grows only near the tip of the processed hole and does not change once it is generated. As known from previous studies, stress waves propagate around the tip of the processed hole during machining, suggesting a strong correlation between stress waves and damage generation. The larger the pulse energy, the more damage is generated, due to the large stress waves generated because of the large removal volume. When the pulse width is long, the material is thermally affected, and thermal damage is thought to occur at the entrance of the processed hole.
The extreme intensity of femtosecond laser pulses can enable microfabrication in glass. However, conventional femtosecond laser based glass processing has two severe limitations, viz., a low processing speed and the generation of damage during processing. To create a hole with a diameter of 10 m and a depth of over 100 μm using the conventional method, hundreds of pulses must be focused on a single spot because the volume removed by a single femtosecond laser pulse is too small. Furthermore, whenever a laser pulse is focused on the target surface, a strong stress wave is generated, thereby hindering precision. We have resolved these issues by coaxially focusing a single femtosecond laser pulse and a fiber laser pulse having a wavelength that is transparent to glass. A hole with a diameter of 10 μm and a depth of 133 μm was created in 40 μs, which indicates that the processing speed was over 5000 times faster than that of a conventional femtosecond laser. Moreover, the damage generated was considerably eliminated in comparison with the conventional method, and precision processing was achieved. The results of this study will help expand the industrial applications of femtosecond laser processing.
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