Research at the Materials Modification Laboratory Sandia is a multiprogram national security lab, operated by Sandia Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., for the U.S. Dept. of Energy. Materials modification with intense ion beams is made possible with Sandia s repetitive pulsed power capability combined with a robust intense ion beam design developed at Cornell University. The depth of treatment is controllable by varying the ion energy and species. Rapid cooling and resolidification of the melted layer occurs by thermal conduction into the underlying substrate.
Ablated material is deposited on substrate as shown.
Click over image with right mouse button to open or save image. Any number of gases, including high-Z gases such as krypton, can be injected to form a beam. Compared to ion implantation, costs can be significantly lower at doses sufficient to modify metallurgical properties. And while cooling rates comparable to those seen here occur with pulsed laser processing, the in-depth energy delivery with ions means that a deeper melt layer can be created before ablation occurs. Reflection of laser light also limits laser use with metals.