Post subject: laser inscription on non-carbon gems
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:09 pm
Active Member
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:24 am Posts: 63
Question: Is diamond the only gem that can be inscribed with a laser? Or can all other gems be so inscribed? I have a nebulous idea that diamond, as burnable carbon, is the only gem that will be inscibed with laser. Am I wrong? Thanks.
Post subject: Re: laser inscription on non-carbon gems
Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 8:47 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:01 pm Posts: 1902 Location: Pine City, NY and Dothan, AL
mowgli2001 wrote:
Question: Is diamond the only gem that can be inscribed with a laser? Or can all other gems be so inscribed? I have a nebulous idea that diamond, as burnable carbon, is the only gem that will be inscibed with laser. Am I wrong? Thanks.
Laser etching doesn't depend on burning, so it doesn't have to be an oxygen-combustible material. At Bausch & Lomb, years ago, we used lasers to drill holes in lots of stuff. I don't know what mechanisms may be involved, but probably vaporization is a large part of it.
Post subject: Re: laser inscription on non-carbon gems
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:30 am
Valued Contributor
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 11:29 am Posts: 142
Quote:
Laser etching doesn't depend on burning, so it doesn't have to be an oxygen-combustible material. At Bausch & Lomb, years ago, we used lasers to drill holes in lots of stuff. I don't know what mechanisms may be involved, but probably vaporization is a large part of it.
Yes. It's vaporization. I worked at a plant where we had a 10 kW laser that we used to engrave the final product.
Post subject: Re: laser inscription on non-carbon gems
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 6:09 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:05 am Posts: 1499
Yes, laser ablation is the correct term. Note that liquid -> gas is evaporation, so vaporizing is not correct. Now solid -> gas is sublimation, which is closer to what is happening. But really the laser is changing the material from solid -> plasma (ionized gas, a fourth state of matter). So the proper term is ablation.
The ionized plasma can be used to identify the material's chemical content... examples include LIBS and LA-ICP-MS.
Post subject: Re: laser inscription on non-carbon gems
Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2017 6:32 pm
Gold Member
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:42 pm Posts: 1033
Laser ablation is the process of removing material from a solid (or occasionally liquid) surface by irradiating it with a laser beam. At low laser flux, the material is heated by the absorbed laser energy and evaporates or sublimates. At high laser flux, the material is typically converted to a plasma. Usually, laser ablation refers to removing material with a pulsed laser, but it is possible to ablate material with a continuous wave laser beam if the laser intensity is high enough. (wikipedia)
I should mention that because usually you do not want to damage nearby material, usually low flux not used.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum