Surface roughness changes in Al2O3 induced by Nd:YAG laser irradiation

We investigated the surface roughness and surface morphology changes for the laser irradiated alumina plates by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. For the laser irradiation on the alumina plates with ${\lambda}$ = 1064 nm, the surface roughness decreases with the increasing energy density. The surface morphology shows that the edges of alumina grains become dull with the increasing energy density. For ${\lambda}$ = 532 nm, increasing scan time at the same energy density causes a rough surface. We discuss the physical reason of the surface roughness and surface morphology changes.