Laser-induced fluorescence applied to laser welding of austenitic stainless steel for dilute alloying element detection

Optical spectral analysis of the laser weld plume is a common technique for non-contact, in situ weld plume analysis. However, the low sensitivity of optical emission spectroscopy limits the available information during 1070 nm wavelength laser welding, which is becoming the standard in many industrial operations. Here we demonstrate an improved sensitivity of optical spectroscopy by applying laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) for probing the hot gas plume induced during fiber laser welding of 304L austenitic stainless steel. As a proof-of-principle, we show that LIF is capable of resolving a spectral signal from silicon being emitted during welding. Optical detection of such a low concentration alloying element has not previously been reported and shows the capability of LIF for increased sensitivity. Silicon atoms in the weld plume were excited in the ultraviolet at 221.09 nm and detected at 221.64 nm. We demonstrate the detection of silicon LIF down to laser welding powers of 600 W (210 kW cm−2) making this technique applicable even in low-power laser welding or additive manufacturing scenarios.