Silica aerogels are unique materials with characteristics that allow them to be used in a wide variety of applications. They are nanoporous, with low density, large surface area, low thermal conductivity, and they are relatively translucent. Recently, the use of a CO₂ engraving and cutting system to etch a variety of patterns, including text and photographs, onto the surface of silica aerogel with minimal damage to the bulk aerogel was demonstrated; however, the mechanism by which the aerogel surface is altered was not understood and the extent of the damage not quantified. In this paper we present results on the effect of etching on, and cutting through, silica aerogel material with a CO₂ laser engraving and cutting system, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas adsorption analysis. SEM analyses of the etched aerogel material show evidence of melting. Surface areas of the etched portion of aerogel monoliths are lower compared that the unetched material while pore diameters are larger. FTIR shows that little structural change occurs on the molecular level during etching of the silica aerogel.

Silica aerogel can be etched using a CO₂ laser engraver and cutting system: (a) a photograph of aerogel etched with a geometric pattern shows no damage to the bulk material; (b) an SEM micrograph of a single laser pulse indicates that some of the material is removed via vaporization; and (c) a higher magnification SEM micrograph of an etched section of the aerogel shows evidence of melting/sintering due to interaction of the laser pulse with the surface.

二氧化硅气凝胶是独特的材料，其特性使其可以用于多种应用。它们是纳米多孔的，具有低密度，大表面积，低导热性，并且它们是相对半透明的。最近，已证明使用CO ₂雕刻和切割系统在二氧化硅气凝胶表面上蚀刻各种图案（包括文字和照片），而对整体气凝胶的损害最小。但是，气凝胶表面改变的机理尚不清楚，并且损害程度尚未量化。在本文中，我们介绍了蚀刻和切割带有CO _2的二氧化硅气凝胶材料的效果的结果激光雕刻和切割系统，使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM），傅立叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）和气体吸附分析。蚀刻后的气凝胶材料的SEM分析显示出熔化的迹象。与未蚀刻的材料相比，气凝胶单块的蚀刻部分的表面积较低，而孔径较大。FTIR显示在二氧化硅气凝胶蚀刻期间，分子水平上几乎没有结构变化。

可以使用CO ₂激光雕刻机和切割系统对二氧化硅气凝胶进行蚀刻：（a）刻有几何图案的气凝胶照片显示对散装材料没有损坏；（b）单个激光脉冲的SEM显微照片表明某些材料是通过汽化去除的；（c）气凝胶蚀刻部分的高倍SEM显微照片显示出由于激光脉冲与表面的相互作用而熔化/烧结的迹象。