Modulation of diffusion with polarized lasers

Laser diffusion is generally used to modify the metallurgical composition at the surface of materials for improving the mechanical properties. Platinum has been diffused into titanium and tantalum sheets in this study, and the concentrations of Pt in the substrates are determined. The concentration of Pt is higher at lower scanning speeds due to higher surface temperature and longer diffusion time than in the case of higher scanning speeds. Additionally, the samples treated with a linearly polarized laser beam exhibit slightly higher concentration of Pt. The enhanced diffusion in the case of linearly polarized laser treatment can be attributed to controlled excitation of the local vibration modes of the atoms in the substrate. The reflectivity of the samples are also measured at the wavelength of 1,064 nm and compared with theoretical results. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg