Nd:YAG laser drilling of slate

A series of experiments to investigate the feasibility of using a Nd:YAG laser to process slate tiles and the influence of the processing parameters have been undertaken. The objective of this work is to investigate the capabilities of a Nd:YAG pulsed laser to drill tiny holes in slate tiles, in order to produce a better quality drilled slate tile in a reduced time. Part of the results obtained in a systematic study about the influence of the processing parameters, such as average power, pulse width, frequency, pressure and type of assisting gas is presented. (Author) 9 refs