Influence of laser–target interaction regime on composition and properties of surface layers grown by laser treatment of Ti plates

Surface laser treatment of commercially pure titanium plates was performed in air using two different Nd : YAG sources delivering pulses of 5 and 35 ns. The laser fluence conditions were set to obtain with each source either yellow or blue surface layers. Nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) was used to quantify the amount of light elements in the formed layers. Titanium oxinitrides, containing different amounts of oxygen and nitrogen, were mainly found, except in the case of long pulses and high laser fluence, which led to the growth of titanium dioxide. The structure of the layers was studied by x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. In addition, reflectance spectra showed the transition from a metal-like behaviour to an insulating TiO₂-like behaviour as a function of the treatment conditions.

Modelling of the laser–target interaction on the basis of the Semak model was performed to understand the different compositions and properties of the layers. Numerical calculations showed that vaporization dominates in the case of short pulses, whereas a liquid-ablation regime is achieved in the case of 35 ns long pulses.