Abstract
In order to develop a new laser cutting method for brittle materials, thermal stress analysis and cutting experiment of glass were carried out. Crack was propagated by the local thermal stress generated by laser irradiation. However, crack didn't follow the scanning line of laser when the scanning direction changed. FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis was carried out to predict the crack growth behavior. The result shows that the crack growth behavior obtained by FEM analysis agrees with the experimental result. Twin beam technique was studied by FEM analysis to control the crack growth direction. For twin beam located in parallel to the laser scanning direction, crack growth direction can be controlled by changing the intensity ratio between the two beams.
