Review of Research Progress in Laser-based Hybrid Machining of Hard and Brittle Materials

Hard and brittle materials such as glass, semiconductor, sapphire, ceramics and hard alloy are widely used in construction industry, biomedicine, aerospace, integrated circuits, new energy, photoelectric display, rail transit, ocean and other fields. However, their high hardness, brittleness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance also bring great challenges to their processing. At present, mechanical machining, ion beam etching, chemical etching, and laser machining are the main methods for machining hard and brittle materials. However, these processing methods still face the bottleneck problem that processing efficiency and processing quality cannot be achieved simultaneously. To overcome the problems mentioned above, researchers have proposed a hybrid processing method that combines laser processing and other processing methods. This study outlines the mainstream methods of laser-based hybrid processing of hard and brittle materials, including laser-assisted other methods processing, other methods-assisted laser processing, and laser assisted laser processing. The processing principle, research status, and processing results evaluation of these laser-based hybrid machining technologies are highlighted. The advantages, limitations, and applications of different laser-based hybrid machining methods are summarized. Finally, the future development trend of laser laser-based hybrid machining of hard brittle materials is presented. © 2024 Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society. All rights reserved.