Laser marking of polymer materials

摘要

A system and method for efficiently laser marking a polymer target material, and more particularly a transparent polymer target material, is presented. The system includes a visually transparent polymer target material comprising a surface and a near 2 μm fiber laser, the fiber laser having a peak power equal to or greater than 10 kW, a pulse repetition rate equal to or greater than 1 kHz, and an average power equal to or less than 20 W. In certain embodiments, the fiber laser may be a Q-switched fiber laser having a pulse width equal to or less than 200 ns or a mode-locked fiber laser having a pulse width equal to or less than 100 ps. The method includes producing, using the fiber laser, a mark that is not transparent to visible wavelengths on the surface of the polymer target material without damaging it.

主权项

1. A method of laser marking a polymer target material, comprising: providing:
the polymer target material comprising a surface, wherein the polymer target material is transparent at visible wavelengths and without laser marking additives; and a near 2 gm fiber laser, said fiber laser having a peak power equal to or greater than 10 kW, a pulse repetition rate equal to or greater than 1 kHz, and an average power equal to or less than 20 W; and producing a mark with the fiber laser that is not transparent to visible wavelengths on the surface of the polymer target material without damaging the surface of the polymer target material.