Interaction of ruby laser with carbon fibrous materials

Abstract

Carbon fibrous materials are interesting because of their good properties and numerous possible applications. The characteristics of these materials can be programmed by careful selection of the modification process parameters. The laser technique can be successfully employed for these purposes. The high temperatures arising in the material during a short laser pulse can cause a number of changes in the material. Carbon fibrous materials with different textile shapes, during different stages of processing, were exposed to laser radiation. A ruby laser (lambda=694.3 nm) was used to modify the material. The structural changes were examined by scanning electron microscopy and Xray diffraction. It way established that the radiation of this laser induces structural changes leading to a better arrangement of the turbostratic carbon fiber structure.