The development of reliable, high intensity lasers operating at wavelengths readily absorbed by most materials has led to their use as directed heat sources for manufacturing. The focus of the present investigation is the application of carbon dioxide lasers to three-dimensional cutting and shaping of ultrahard ceramic materials such as silicon carbide and silicon nitride. An important drawback to silicon compound ceramics is their extreme hardness, which makes their processing and shaping an extremely difficult, tedious, and expensive procedure. Preliminary work has shown that vastly higher removal rates are possible with a carbon dioxide laser than with conventional diamond grinding. The research to be performed will provide understanding of laser machining process, which is essential in order to make it technically and economically viable. The proposed work is interdisciplinary in nature. It falls in the area of thermal processing, bridging across the interface between heat transfer and materials.
