Femtosecond laser-induced microwelding of silver and copper

Femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation has been shown to be effective for welding transparent materials and for transparent materials to metals. However, to date there is little work regarding similar applications in welding/bonding of metals. In this article, we for the first time to the best of our knowledge report on fs laser-induced microwelding of Ag microwires and Cu substrates. The influence of laser pulse number and fluence on fs laser microwelding is studied to explore an optimum welding window. Morphology analysis indicates that the primary weld of the Ag microwire and the Cu substrate was located at the edge of the Ag microwire and produced via the redeposition and local melting-induced welding of the ablated materials.