Experimental investigation on large-aspect-ratio zirconia ceramic microchannels by waterjet-assisted laser processing

Zirconia (ZrO2) ceramic has excellent mechanical properties and superior chemical stability, making it widely used in aerospace, microelectronics, biomedicine, and mechanical manufacturing. However, due to its difficult-to-machine characteristics, traditional machining methods struggle with fabricating large-aspect-ratio (LAR) microchannels in zirconia ceramics. This study compares direct laser machining (DLM) and waterjet-assisted laser micromachining (WJALM) in preparing LAR zirconia microchannels, focusing on surface morphology, heat-affected zones, microhardness, chemical and phase composition. Subsequently, parameter experiments of WJALM were carried out to achieve superior machined quality LAR zirconia microchannels by assessing the geometric profile and ablation-area-ratio. Experimental results indicated that WJALM significantly surpasses DLM, achieving a 46 % decrease in areal surface roughness (Sa), WJALM reduced the heat-affected zone depth by approximately 37 % compared to DLM. The WJALM process also enhanced the ablation-area-ratio by 61 %, achieving superior machining quality under optimized conditions of 27 W laser power, 100 mm/s scanning speed, and 8 m/s waterjet velocity.