Laser is a versatile tool, it has certain advantages and disadvantages.

Some of them are listed

below.
The Advantages are,
o High maneuverability.
o Highly focused spot, where the heating is very much localized.
o Minimum distortion to target material.
o No force is exerted on the work piece.
o Non-contact process and as such there is no wear and tear of tool.
o Not affected by magnetic field.
o Angular operation is possible.
o High speed of processing (improved productivity).
o Adaptability with existing machines.
o Ability to operate in inaccessible areas.
Disadvantages are,
o Cost of machine and operator is high.
o High cost of operational maintenance.
o Laser safety.
As already mentioned that Lasers have unique properties for surface
modification applications. The electromagnetic radiations are absorbed within the first few
atomic layers for opaque materials such as metals thus making it possible to put the applied
energy precisely on the area of surface of interest. Common advantages of laser surface
treatment include chemical cleanliness, controlled thermal penetration, remote non-contact
processing, and localized heating. The adjoining figure highlights the areas of interest. There
are three distinct regions surface heating, melting and vaporization. Processes, which come
under these categories, include:

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Surface Heating
Hardness increase
Strength increase
Reduced friction
Wear reduction
Increase in fatigue life
Surface carbide creation
Magnetic domain control
Stereolithography
The depth of hardness is proportional to P/(DV)1/2
Melting
Moderate to rapid solidification rates thus produce almost homogeneous structures
Little thermal penetration results in little distortion and thus the process can be used
for thermally sensitive materials.
Surface finish typically of the order of 20 25 micron thus reducing the post laser
processing of the work piece
Cleaning
Glazing
Marking
Welding
Cladding
Laser surface alloying
Ion implantation
Diffusion
Reactive gas shrouding to form nitride, hydride etc.
Vaporization
Shock Hardening
Drilling
Cutting

Laser Drilling
Laser drilling of metals is based on a face-heating phenomenon. The absorbed intensity is
transformed into heat within the penetration depth of laser radiation. And when the illuminated
spot on the surface reaches boiling temperature, material removal starts due the processes of
vaporization and melt expulsion. Laser enables drilling of a diamond die in a few minutes as
against 20 hours taken by conventional methods. There is no wastage in the process and the
saving in terms of the cost of diamond dust helps in recovering the financial outlay on such a
drilling system. Laser light energy is primarily applied in effecting micro openings in rubies and
diamonds. Without heating the entire machined unit, now possible to drill filament canals in
refractory materials. Laser drilling of holes in a diamond takes 2 to 3 minute as against 2 to 3
days taken by conventional drilling. A laser installation in Russia drills holes with diameters and
depths from 0.005 to 0.8 mm and depths from 1 to 3 mm, respectively, in diamonds of any size
and shape. The plus point about laser drilling is that it does not cause any damage to the
diamond or any other processed material. A typical hole drilled in a ruby disc is shown in Fig:.
For laser drilling, usually pulsed carbon dioxide, Nd:YAG or alexandrite laser is
used. Special operations like drilling of holes with diameter less than 0.5 mm using
conventional techniques are difficult. However, the pulsed laser micro drilling is quite
successful for such operations, both for metals and non-metals. The Nd:YAG laser emits at 1.06
m and the alexandrite laser is tuned at 755 nm. For some metals, the alexandrite laser
consistently gives a cleaner entrance hole with more roundness and finer edges than is
obtained with Nd:YAG laser. The superior performance of alexandrite laser is due to its shorter
wavelength and continuous spiking of its output. The absorption of most materials increases
with shorter wavelengths, giving alexandrite laser an edge over the Nd:YAG or laser in many
material processing applications.