Effects of ultra-short pulse to Laser Additive Manufacturing process

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has garnered significant attention for its ability to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) products with complex geometries. While continuous wave (CW) lasers have traditionally been used in AM as heat sources, they face limitations in nano and micro-scale fabrication due to the diffusion of thermal energy, which results in heat-affected zones, residual stress, substrate degradation, poor dimensional accuracy, and surface finish issues. To address these challenges, ultra-short pulse lasers, such as femto- and pico-second lasers, have proven effective at micro- and nanometer scales. The ultra-short laser pulses inhibit thermally induced mechanisms, instead generating a dense photo-excited plasma that weakens lattice cohesion, introduces disorder, and increases the mobility of atoms and defects which leads to non-thermal melting, phase transformations, and mechanical effects.