Liquid-assisted laser fabrication of hard materials and applications

Due to the stable mechanical and chemical properties, excellent photoelectric properties, and other advantages, hard and brittle materials have been widely used in aerospace, the photoelectric industry, and other fields. Laser fabrication is an ideal technology for hard and brittle materials processing due to its high precision, high energy, and non-contact properties. In order to achieve the removal of hard and brittle materials, high laser energy is usually required, resulting in low structural accuracy and poor surface quality. This review introduces the advances of liquid-assisted laser fabrication technology in the processing of hard and brittle materials, introduces the principles of three liquid-assisted laser fabrication technologies, and compares their advantages and disadvantages. The effects of different processing technologies, types of auxiliary liquids, and processing parameters on the quality of different materials were summarized in detail. The main applications of liquid-assisted laser fabrication technology were summarized, and the existing problems and potential development of this technology were discussed.