Laser-induced plasma micro-machining (LIPMM) for enhanced productivity and flexibility in laser-based micro-machining processes

This paper presents a new micro-machining process, laser-induced plasma micro-machining (LIPMM), in which plasma induced in a liquid at the focal point of the laser beam is used to perform micro-machining. It is shown that LIPMM can machine a variety of materials including metal alloys, polymers and ceramics. A process variant, line-LIPMM (L-LIPMM), based on optical manipulation of the laser beam to create line- instead of spot-plasma, is developed. Additionally, a second variant, magnetically-controlled LIPMM (MC-LIPMM), in which an external magnetic field is used to manipulate the shape of the plasma, is developed to further increase process throughput and flexibility.