Cutting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film by 355 nm nanosecond laser

Abstract Special-shaped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films are widely used in the electronics industry, and high-quality cuts is one of the core parameters for expanding scope of PET applications. In this article, 355 nm nanosecond laser is used to obtain a high-quality PET cuts. First, the laser cutting quality evaluation system based on the straightness, the width of the cuts, and the size of the heat affected zone (HAZ) was defined. Then, the influence of laser cutting parameters on the cut’s quality was analyzed by 3 factors and 5 level orthogonal experiment, and high-quality cuts (width 25.2 ± 3.6 μm, HAZ 18.4 ± 2.2 μm, straightness 2.9 ± 0.32 μm) was obtained under the optimal process parameter combination. Finally, the interaction mechanism between nanosecond UV laser and PET film with heating carbonization and hot melt as the core was explored, and the effect of laser cutting process parameters on the quality of the cuts was analyzed based on this mechanism.