Copper and Aluminium in Cultural Heritage: the Analysis of Damage Threshold of Material in Interaction with Ruby Laser

Abstract

Copper and aluminum are materials that have technological, functional and expressive value in the contemporary art and architecture. Therefore, studying the possibilities of protection of these materials by using non-destructive method is of great importance when it comes to cultural heritage. The paper presents the results of interactions of laser light with wavelength λ = 694.3nm (Ruby laser, Q-switch mode) and metal samples, covered with a deposit. The goal of investigation was to determine the maximum energy density of the laser beam which can be used to remove deposit and does not interact with the basic material at the same time. The effects of laser interaction are investigated by SEM and EDX.

U savremenoj umetnosti i arhitekturi bakar i aluminijum su materijali koji imaju tehnološku, funkcionalnu i ekspresivnu vrednost. Zbog toga je u oblasti kulturne baštine od velikog značaja proučavanje mogućnosti zaštite ovih materijala nedestruktivnim metodama. U radu su prikazani rezultati delovanja laserske svetlosti talasne dužine λ=694.3 nm (rubinski laser, Q – switch mod) na uzorke prekrivene depozitom. Cilj ispitivanja je bio da se odrede maksimalne gustine energije laserskog snopa koje sklanjaju depozit, a ne stupaju u interakciju sa osnovnim materijalom. Odabrani uzorci od bakra i aluminijuma su bili dugi niz godina izloženi atmosferskim uticajima. Efekti delovanja laserske svetlosti su ispitivani skenirajućim elektronskim mikroskopom.