Structure and Validation of a Kinematic Surface Simulation Model for the ultrashort-pulse Direct-Laser-Writing Process

This paper presents the development and validation of a kinematic surface simulation model for the prediction of ultrashort-pulsed laser structured surfaces. The simulation is based on an existing kinematic simulation model for short-pulsed laser structuring and utilizes the stepwise Boolean intersection of a machined and digitized single point ablation with the workpiece to reproduce the microstructuring process. The existing short-pulse simulation model was extended by newly integrated description models to allow a more detailed representation of within the process changing influences, e.g. the surface fine-structure to enable a multi-layer processing. In addition, a reorganization of the simulation algorithm resulted in a general improvement of the run time and a resolution-independence. Based on the kinematic simulation principle, the manufacturing process for a wide range of material-machine combinations in the field of laser structuring can be described. The model enables a time-efficient, nanometer-resolved prediction of representative surfaces with a size of up to several square millimeters. Furthermore, complex influences such as material- and temperature-related properties do not need to be considered separately, as they are taken into account by the machined and digitized single point ablation. Compared to artificial intelligence approaches and numerical or multiphysical simulations, the need for preliminary studies is very low. Depending on the chosen laser machining parameters the simulation can reproduce the surface textures macro- and microstructure.