In this work, the interaction of a transversely excited
atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser with tungsten–titanium
(W-Ti) alloy deposited on austenitic stainless steel is considered.
The W-Ti alloy as a refractory material possesses very good
physicochemical characteristics such as thermochemical stability
and high melting temperature. Studying of interactions of different
energetic particles or laser beams with W-Ti coatings has both
application and fundamental importance.
The morphological features of the W-Ti coating, deposited on
austenitic stainless steel AISI 316, induced by a TEA
CO2 laser after multipulse cumulative laser action,
have been considered. The laser pulses with tail (FWHM = 120
ns, tail = 2 μs) and free-tail pulses (FWHM = 80 ns) have
been employed. Laser pulses used in the experiment had equal
peak power density I = 120 MWcm−2.
For the given peak power density, excessive surface changes
on the coating were registered. From direct observation on a
microscopic scale (OM, SEM), it can be concluded that W-Ti coatings
show different behavior under laser irradiation with various
temporal pulse shapes.